Trump Criminal Trial: Why Donald Trump’s Sentencing Matters

I’ve been surprised at the punditry about the fallout of Trump’s convictions in the Manhattan criminal trial. It made sense to say that we’d needed to wait for a couple of weeks to get a reliable read on how the public was processing the jury’s guilty verdicts. That is, rose-tinted pronouncements by Trump enthusiasts that the convictions had no meaningful effect on the race — or even that the former president’s 2024 bid was somehow helped by his status as a convicted felon because it showed that Democrats had overplayed their lawfare hand — were daft.

The former president and, more to the point, de facto Republican presidential nominee, was always going to be hurt by being found guilty in a criminal trial. The question has been whether it would be minor or major damage.

About the Author

Andrew C. McCarthy

Andrew C. McCarthy is a senior fellow at National Review Institute, an NR contributing editor, and author of Ball of Collusion: The Plot to Rig an Election and Destroy a Presidency.

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I’ve been surprised at the punditry about the fallout of Trump’s convictions in the Manhattan criminal trial. It made sense to say that we’d needed to wait for a couple of weeks to get a reliable read on how the public was processing the jury’s guilty verdicts. That is, rose-tinted pronouncements by Trump enthusiasts that the convictions had no meaningful effect on the race — or even that the former president’s 2024 bid was somehow helped by his status as a convicted felon because it showed that Democrats had overplayed their lawfare hand — were daft.

The former president and, more to the point, de facto Republican presidential nominee, was always going to be hurt by being found guilty in a criminal trial. The question has been whether it would be minor or major damage.

About the Author

Andrew C. McCarthy

Andrew C. McCarthy is a senior fellow at National Review Institute, an NR contributing editor, and author of Ball of Collusion: The Plot to Rig an Election and Destroy a Presidency.