NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� sought to move past his on Friday and build momentum for his bid to return to the White House with fierce attacks on the judge who oversaw the case, the prosecution鈥檚 star witness and the criminal justice system as a whole.
Speaking from his namesake tower in Manhattan in a symbolic return to the campaign trail, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee delivered a message aimed squarely at his most loyal supporters. Defiant as ever, he insisted without evidence that the verdict was 鈥渞igged鈥� and driven by politics.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to fight," Trump said from the atrium of Trump Tower, where he descended a golden escalator to announce his 2016 campaign nine years ago next month. The machinations during the final, dramatic weeks of that campaign ultimately led to the charges that made Trump the first former president and of a major party to be convicted of a crime, exposing him to potential prison time.
While has energized Trump鈥檚 base, fueling millions of dollars in new campaign contributions, it鈥檚 unclear how the conviction and his rambling response will resonate with the kinds of voters who are likely to decide what is expected to be an extremely close November election. They include suburban women, independents, and voters turned off by both candidates.
Speaking before dozens of reporters and cameras that carried his remarks live, Trump cast himself as a martyr, suggesting that if this could happen to him, 鈥淭hey can do this to anyone.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 willing to do whatever I have to do to save our country and save our Constitution. I don鈥檛 mind,鈥� he said, as he traded the aging lower Manhattan courthouse where he spent much of the last two months for a backdrop of American flags, rose marble and brass.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a very unpleasant thing, to be honest," he added. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 a great, great honor.鈥�
President Joe Biden, responding to the verdict at the White House, said Trump 鈥渨as given every opportunity to defend himself鈥� and blasted his rhetoric.
鈥淚t鈥檚 reckless, it鈥檚 dangerous, it鈥檚 irresponsible for anyone to say this is rigged just because they don鈥檛 like the verdict,鈥� Biden said.
Trump has made his legal woes the centerpiece of his campaign message as he has argued, without evidence, that Biden orchestrated the four indictments against him to hobble his campaign. The hush money case was filed by local prosecutors in Manhattan who don鈥檛 work for the Justice Department or any White House office.
A Manhattan jury on Thursday found Trump guilty of 34 charges in a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through a hush money payment to a porn actor who said the two had sex.
Despite the historic ruling, a convicted Trump sounded much the same as a pre-convicted Trump, as he delivered what amounted to a truncated version of his usual rally speech. He argued the verdict was illegitimate and driven by politics and sought to downplay the facts underlying the case. He said he would appeal.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not hush money. It鈥檚 a nondisclosure agreement," he said. 鈥淭otally legal, totally common.鈥�
When Trump emerged from the courtroom immediately after the verdict Thursday, he had appeared tense and deeply angry, his words pointed and clipped. But by Friday, he seemed more relaxed 鈥� if a little congested 鈥� especially as he moved on to other topics. He did not take questions from reporters, marching off as supporters assembled in the lobby cheered.
His lawyer, Todd Blanche, who was with him at Trump Tower but didn't speak, said in an interview later Friday that he had been 鈥渟hocked鈥� by how well Trump took the verdict.
鈥淗e鈥檚 not happy about it, but there鈥檚 no defendant in the history of our justice system who鈥檚 happy about a conviction the day after," he said. 鈥淏ut I think he knows there鈥檚 a lot of fight left and there鈥檚 a lot of opportunity to fix this and that鈥檚 what we鈥檙e going to try to do.鈥�
Trump has portrayed himself as a passionate supporter of law enforcement and has even talked favorably of officers handling suspects roughly. But he has spent the last two years attacking parts of the criminal justice system as it applies to him and raising questions about the honesty and motives of agents and prosecutors.
In his disjointed remarks, Trump attacked Biden's immigration and tax policies before pivoting to his case, growling that he was threatened with jail time if he violated . He cast intricate parts of the case and trial proceedings as unfair, making false statements and misrepresentations as he went.
Trump said he had wanted to testify in his trial, a right that he opted not to exercise. Doing so would have allowed prosecutors to cross-examine him under oath. He raised the specter on Friday of 小蓝视频 charged with perjury for a verbal misstep, saying, 鈥淭he theory is you never testify because as soon as you testify 鈥� anybody, if it were George Washington 鈥� don鈥檛 testify because they鈥檒l get you on something that you said slightly wrong.鈥�
Testing the limits of the gag order that continues to prohibit him from publicly critiquing witnesses including Michael Cohen, Trump called his former fixer, the star prosecution witness in the case, 鈥渁 sleazebag," without referencing him by name.
He also blasted the judge in the case, saying his side's chief witness had been 鈥渓iterally crucified by this man who looks like an angel, but he鈥檚 really a devil.鈥�
He also circled back to some of the same authoritarian themes he has repeatedly focused on in speeches and rallies, painting the U.S. under Biden as a 鈥渃orrupt鈥� and 鈥渇ascist鈥� nation.
His son Eric Trump and daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, joined him, but his wife, Melania Trump, who has been publicly silent since the verdict, was not seen.
Outside, on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue, supporters gathered across the street flew a giant red 鈥淭RUMP OR DEATH鈥� sign that flapped in front of a high-end boutique. A small group of protesters held signs saying 鈥淕uilty鈥� and 鈥淛ustice matters."
Trump鈥檚 campaign announced Friday evening it had raised $52.8 million in the 24 hours after the verdict. The campaign said one-third of those donors had not previously given to him.
Trump and his campaign had been preparing for a guilty verdict for days, even as they held out hope for a hung jury. On Tuesday, Trump railed that not even Mother Teresa, the nun and saint, could beat the charges, which he repeatedly labeled as 鈥渞igged.鈥�
His top aides on Wednesday released a memo in which they insisted a verdict would have no impact on the election, whether Trump was convicted or acquitted.
The news nonetheless landed with a jolt. Trump listened as the jury delivered a guilty verdict on every count. Trump sat stone-faced while the verdict was read.
His campaign fired off a flurry of fundraising appeals, and GOP allies rallied to his side. One text message called him a 鈥減olitical prisoner,鈥� even though he hasn't yet found out if he will be sentenced to prison. The campaign also began selling black 鈥淢ake America Great Again鈥� caps, instead of the usual red, to reflect a 鈥渄ark day in history.鈥�
Aides reported an immediate rush of contributions so intense that WinRed, the platform the campaign uses for fundraising, crashed.
In the next two months, Trump is set to have his first debate with Biden, announce a running mate and formally accept his party鈥檚 nomination at the Republican National Convention. But before he goes to Milwaukee for the RNC, Trump will have to return to court on July 11 for sentencing. He could face penalties ranging from a fine or probation up to prison time.
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Associated Press writers Adriana Gomez Licon in Miami, Meg Kinnard in Columbia, 小蓝视频 Carolina, Gary Fields in Washington and Ali Swenson and Michael R. Sisak in New York contributed to this report.
Michelle L. Price And Jill Colvin, The Associated Press
