DOES ‘GUILTY’ VERDICT CHANGE THE RACE? Former President Donald Trump’s supporters, nearly all of the Republican base plus millions who see Trump as a better choice for the White House than President Joe Biden, will see the guilty verdict against Trump in New York as deeply unfair and deeply politicized. But Alvin Bragg, the Democrat who was elected district attorney in Manhattan on a vow to pursue Trump, had the authority to bring the case. Juan Merchan, the Biden donor who served as the judge in the case, had the authority to run the trial as he saw fit. And the jury, drawn from a borough of New York that went for Biden by 84.5% to 14.5% in the 2020 presidential election, had the authority to convict Trump.

So the trial is over. Ahead lies an appeal, which many experts think will have a good chance of overturning the verdict. But that won’t happen until next year, when the 2024 election is long over. In the immediate future, Trump will be handled as a new convict, under supervision and facing sentence in perhaps three months. Many commentators suggest it is unlikely he will go to jail, but the fact is, he has been convicted of 34 felony counts, each carrying a maximum prison sentence of four years.