Rachel Maddow thinks Donald Trump is about to come out swinging even harder for the U.S. legal system as his presidential campaign continues in the aftermath of his historic Thursday conviction. Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts in his New York criminal trial, making him the first ex-president to become a convicted felon.
During an MSNBC segment directly following the breaking news, Maddow addressed the question Trump is going to have to answer throughout the rest of his campaign — why should Americans vote for a convicted felon? — with a prediction that he’ll seek to delegitimize the system that made him one.
“His answer will be that he’s only a convicted felon because the American legal system is illegitimate, and ‘Vote for me and I’ll destroy it, being the implication. I mean, this is where we are right? That he’s not running against Joe Biden. He’s running against the American system of government, and that will become more acute.
“I mean, it’s been pretty acute for a while,” Maddow continued with a chuckle. “That he’s not running against Democrats, he’s running against the democratic process. But in this case, he’s going to be running by saying that the American system of government, the fundamental thing that makes us who we are as a country, that we are governed by laws and not by men, he is going to say that that needs to be overturned and if you pick him he will do it. It’s just now become even more stark.”
Shortly after his conviction Trump took to his social platform Truth Social, saying, “This was a disgrace—a rigged trial by a conflicted judge who is corrupt. We will fight for our constitution—This is long from over!”
Maddow also put the focus on what the Republican Party will do next, saying the part is the real “decision maker.”
“I mean, Donald Trump doesn’t get to by acclamation just decide that he’s going to be the nominee of a major party in this country,” Maddow said. “The Republican Party decided that he alone, among all other citizens in this country, is the person they would most like to put forward as the best leader in this country. The person who is best positioned to represent their values and to be their nominee to lead this country. The Republican Party could change its mind and decide that somebody who has been convicted of 34 felonies shouldn’t be, can’t be their nominee for office.”
The MSNBC host also highlighted incongruencies in the prospect of a convicted felon becoming president of the U.S. when systems in place prevent it in lower offices.
“If you’re a member of Congress, and you’re indicted, you are removed from your committees. If you are convicted of a felony, you are removed from Congress, and that is the decision that the parties make. That’s a self-policing,” she said. “If they choose to leave Donald Trump as their nominee, having been convicted of 34 felonies, you have to ask what they’re for, what they exist for, what’s the role of the party in this case, rather than just to be his Caboose?”
Trump will be sentenced on July 11, just four days before the 2024 Republican National Convention kicks off in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
