There is little doubt that the whole purpose of putting former President Donald Trump on trial in New York City and elsewhere is to brand him as a convicted felon before the 2024 election. The early returns suggest that plan is backfiring in more ways than one.

My colleague Jeremiah Poff detailed the verdict’s effect on Trump’s fundraising numbers in the aftermath of the guilty verdict, including that around $52 million of the $141 million Trump’s campaign raised in May came 24 hours after the verdict was announced. That $141 million is nearly as much as President Joe Biden raised in March and April combined.