Trump has been convicted on all 34 counts related to illicit financial records aimed at hiding payments to Stormy Daniels to obtain her silence regarding the dalliance that he had with her, this in order to protect Trump's 2016 electoral campaign.
Some thoughts...
1. He is Guilty...
There is no question that Trump is guilty. Trump most definitely arranged to pay $130,000 to a hooker to obtain her silence. He did this by fudging the books of his corporation, and he did this to have an affect on an electoral campaign. These are crimes. He is a criminal.
However...
2. This Was an Unjust Prosecution...
Trump was convicted of 34 counts related to improper financial records. These are normally misdemeanor offences, but became felonies because this was done in aid of other offences, the most important of which was "unlawfully influencing" the outcome of the 2016 election.
So please understand that the basic allegation here is not just that the business records were improper. It is also that the payments were made via those improper records to unlawfully influence the election. This can only mean that the payments to Daniels were the "unlawful" thing that influenced the election. In other words, in the opinion of the prosecutor - Alvin Bragg - paying a hooker to keep her mouth shut about an affair, so as to protect a male politician's election chances, constitutes "unlawfully influencing" an election.
Given that this is such serious illicit activity that it can raise a misdemeanor to the level of a felony, will Mr. Bragg be investigating other male politicians to see if they have done precisely the same thing - perhaps interviewing Mr. Pecker from the National Enquirer to ask if he knows of other non-disclosure agreements?
Of course not. This was a special prosecution that has never occurred before and never will occur again...it was all just for Mr. Trump.
The other male, sleaze-bag politicians in the USA who have also paid to avoid "bimbo eruptions" can rest easy. Just as Mr. Pecker knew that his most important role at the National Enquirer was to bury dirt so as to protect the powerful, Mr. Bragg no doubt knows the same thing.
"Unlawfully" paying a hooker to protect your electoral chances will go down in history as the crime of one man...Donald Trump...and no one else.
There is no equality before the law if the book is only ever thrown at just one guy.
3. It Doesn't Matter...
Trump's MAGA supporters will be even more motivated to support him with 34 convictions than without. He will sell this as a Democratic Party set-up, and they will buy all of it. This will not shake a single vote from Trump's base.
4. His Base will Grow...
America is a class society, with three classes: the Consumption Class, the Management/Professional Class, and the Ownership Class.
The Consumption Class is the largest. The sole purpose of people in this class is to consume goods and services in order to keep the economy afloat. This class contains most of the "Deplorables" that Hillary Clinton famously insulted in 2016. This is also the class that contains most of Trump's supporters.
These people are aggressively policed in America to ensure "social harmony". Many have an exceptionally conflictual and jaded view of their country. They love America, but literally hate anyone associated with its politics - party affiliation is irrelevant.
Trump's entire schtick is that he is not a normal politician and he is not part of the normal political mainstream in the USA. Nothing will make this clearer than his conviction on 34 counts for essentially paying a hooker $130,000 to stay silent.
Literally tens of millions of American voters will identify with him now that he has been convicted of many crimes. They will think that, like them, he was also whacked by The Man.
It doesn't matter that Trump actually is The Man. He will now resonate with millions more people than ever before. Prediction...polling will show his support rising, not falling, after these convictions.
5. Conclusion...
Those who brought and who salute this prosecution do not understand that Trump is not the problem; he is a symptom of a problem.
That problem is that tens of millions of American citizens do not think that they are part of the American Dream. They believe that they are not part of that country's economic success; its political mainstream; and most importantly, its emerging culture. They are ready to be politically mobilized by anyone who speaks their language of discontent - so far, Trump is the one who truly gets it.
Once Trump is gone, someone else will tap into this wellspring of discontent, and reap political rewards.
P.S.
Polls since the convictions have been very slightly in favour of Biden. Trump's lead, as per Real Clear Politics, has declined from 0.9% to 0.5%. However, in 2020 Biden had a 7.8% lead at this point in the election cycle in June 2020. If these numbers hold, Biden cannot win the 2024 presidential election.
