Former US President Donald Trump at a New Hampshire primary election night watch party in Nashua, New Hampshire, US, on January 23, 2024 Photo: VCG

 

US' Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has become the first US president to be convicted of a crime following a local trial, which adds to the farcical nature of the presidential election and will further exacerbate political and social divisions, observers said. 

After more than nine hours of deliberations, on Thursday local time a New York jury found Trump guilty of 34 felony counts over falsifying documents to cover up "hush money" paid in the run-up to the 2016 election to buy the silence of a porn star who alleged an extramarital encounter, media reported. 

Justice Juan Merchan set sentencing for July 11, just days before the Republican Party is scheduled to formally nominate Trump as its candidate ahead of the November 5 election, Reuters reported.

The case had been regarded as the least consequential of the four criminal prosecutions Trump faces, but the verdict looms large as it is likely to be the only one before the election, with the others delayed by procedural challenges, Reuters reported.

The crime of falsifying business documents carries a maximum sentence of four years in prison, though those convicted often receive shorter sentences, fines or probation. Incarceration would not legally prevent him from campaigning or taking office if he were to win, per US media.

Trump will not be jailed ahead of sentencing.

Trump, 77, has denied wrongdoing, and an attorney representing him said they would appeal as quickly as possible.

"The real verdict is going to be November 5 by the people," Trump told reporters.

Former US president Donald Trump appears at Manhattan criminal court during jury deliberations in his criminal hush money trial in New York on May 30, 2024. Photo: VCG

 

Biden's campaign said the verdict showed that no one was above the law and urged voters to reject Trump in the election. 

"There is still only one way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office: at the ballot box," the campaign said in a statement.

Shen Yi, a professor at Fudan University in Shanghai, said that ultimately Trump may not be jailed, which will prove to Trump supporters that the lawsuits he faces are political persecution. 

The Democrats have condemned Trump in the name of democracy, yet their own practices are also undemocratic, Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times. "The attitudes of both parties further reflect the rottenness of American politics, and that the law now seems to be used as a political weapon."

However the farce develops, analysts agree that the drama will further aggravate political extremism and is very likely to lead to more chaos and social unrest.   

Two out of three Americans say they are concerned that political violence could follow the November rematch between Biden and Trump, according to a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll. 

After Trump was convicted, his supporters responded with dozens of violent online posts, according to a Reuters review of comments on three Trump-aligned websites.

No matter what Trump's fate is, the American political system is definitely moving toward a more divisive direction that consumes, damages, and even overdraws on the "soft power" of the American system, Shen said.

When asked to comment on the conviction, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at Friday's routine press briefing that she will not comment on the US presidential elections or its internal affairs. 

"We hope whoever gets elected can stay committed to developing healthy and stable China-US relations, as it is in the interests of both countries and the two peoples," Mao said.