Conservative Commentator Responds To Trump Conviction
Daily Wire editor emeritus Ben Shapiro has issued a stark warning about severe backlash and unpredictable consequences following the conviction of former President Donald Trump on numerous felony counts in New York. The historic verdict, which saw a jury convict Trump on 34 felony counts related to hush-money payments made to porn actress Stormy Daniels in 2016, marks the first time a president or former president has been convicted of a crime in American history.
In a live stream on Thursday afternoon, Shapiro criticized the trial as a miscarriage of justice. “It’s a travesty of justice. This case was a joke from the very beginning,” Shapiro stated, accusing Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg of using the case to gain fame and power. He also criticized Judge Juan Merchan, alleging that the judge’s jury instructions were biased in favor of the prosecution.
“This was all set up to convict Donald Trump simply so that either Democrats could jail Donald Trump or spend the next few months declaring Donald Trump a convicted felon for purposes of the election,” Shapiro asserted. He argued that the trial’s primary aim was to damage Trump politically ahead of the 2024 election.
Trump found guilty. We are now in uncharted territory. There has never been anything like this in American history. Watch my complete breakdown of the Trump verdict and what this means for the 2024 election. pic.twitter.com/9hdAUKXpa1
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) May 30, 2024
In response to the verdict, the Biden campaign, which had previously kept its distance from the trial, released a statement affirming that “no one is above the law.” This statement comes amid ongoing legal troubles for President Biden’s son, Hunter, who faces federal charges related to tax and gun violations.
Shapiro predicted that the verdict would backfire on Democrats and bolster Trump’s chances in the 2024 election. He suggested that voters would perceive the conviction as a politically motivated attack. “I think the backlash on this is going to be extraordinary because this is so obviously a manufactured case, so obviously a stupid case that has nothing to do with Donald Trump’s supposed violations of law,” Shapiro said. He warned that if Biden believes the conviction will benefit him politically, he is mistaken.
Addressing the unprecedented nature of the case, Shapiro outlined several potential scenarios for Trump’s sentencing. He posited that Trump might be imprisoned and conduct his presidential campaign from behind bars, a situation that could severely undermine public trust in the fairness of elections.
“The Democrats just set the country on fire. I am absolutely astonished that this trial was ever allowed to go forward,” Shapiro said. He emphasized that the consequences of the conviction are dire and warned of explosive reactions if Trump were to lose the 2024 election while incarcerated.
Shapiro concluded by suggesting that a Democrat victory under these circumstances would be seen as illegitimate by many Americans. “If Donald Trump were to lose in November while serving prison time on a trumped-up charge, the response in the United States will be absolutely explosive. You want to talk about an illegitimate president at that point, the American people will see a Democrat elected under those auspices as illegitimate. There’s just no other way to do it,” he added.
As the nation grapples with the fallout from this historic verdict, the implications for the 2024 election and the broader political landscape remain uncertain, but Shapiro’s warning highlights the potential for significant and lasting repercussions.