The first-of-its-kind criminal trial against former President Donald Trump came to an end on Thursday, May 30, as a jury of 12 New Yorkers found Trump guilty of 34 felonies related to the hush money trial. With his sentencing to be delivered on July 11, just four days before the Republican National Convention is slated to begin, many Americans have questions about what this ruling means for the upcoming election.
The two-part question buzzing around the country concerns the legitimacy of the 45th President’s third presidential bid: Can he still run? And can he still vote?
While the answer to the latter gets complex, the former remains simple. Yes. Despite his status as a felon, Trump is still able to run and hold office.
Three requirements must be met in order to run for president: a person must be a natural-born citizen, at least 35 years old and a resident of the United States for 14 years.
Concerns about Trump’s legitimacy were raised earlier in the year in a Supreme Court case regarding the disqualification clause. This case began after a mix of voters in Colorado argued that Trump’s actions related to the Jan. 6 insurrection disqualified him from holding office and filed a lawsuit to take him off the ballot. The Supreme Court however struck this case down and Trump remained on the state’s primary ballot.
Whether Trump can still vote or not remains to be seen. If Trump goes to prison, then he will be unable to cast a ballot. However, if Trump stays out of prison, then he will still be able to vote.
At this point, due to the fact that he is a first-time criminal offender, and he was convicted of the lowest-ranking felonies in New York, Trump is likely to stay out of jail.
The Collegiate asked students what they thought of Trump’s conviction.
“I think the Trump conviction was a long time coming,” stated Leah Ramsey, 18, of Cedar Springs. “Well deserved.”
Nineteen-year-old Ethan Beute, of Wyoming, raised concerns about democratic interference in the case. Some believe that the judge was biased due to a donation made to the Biden-Harris campaign in the past. Joe Tacopina, the lawyer formerly representing Trump, said that he had no reason to believe the judge was biased in an interview with CNN.
“I think there is definitely corruption from the democratic side intervening with the case and I will still be voting for him,” said Beute.
Trump held a press conference at his tower in Lower Manhattan where he delivered his remarks about his conviction. During his speech, he said the Biden Administration was behind the case, called Justice Juan Merchan “conflicted” and claimed he was innocent and blamed his former lawyer Michael Cohen for the wrongdoings.
The remaining three criminal cases against the former president are unlikely to go to court before election day. For more information about those cases, click here.
Collegiate Editor-in-Chief Blace Carpenter contributed to this report.
