As I'm sure you know by now, defeated, former President Donald Trump has been found guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records by a jury of his peers in New York City.
He is the first current or former President of the United States to be convicted of a felony, let alone 34 of them. Sentencing is scheduled for July 11th. But chances are this will be delayed as Trump will surely appeal the verdict as is his right. It would not shock me if his sentencing was delayed past the election in November.
Now if he were to be elected Trump cannot pardon himself for state crimes although I don't think that would stop him from trying. Yet is also conceivable that he could sent to prison as the sitting President of the United States - even if only for a few months. It is equally conceivable that the appeals process could be expedited, and his convictions could be overturned on constitutional grounds as it has been argued that Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg is trying a federal case in state court. In which case, perhaps Trump could pardon himself were he to be re-elected.
If one is convicted of a felony in this country and is incarcerated for it then one loses one's right to vote except in Maine, Vermont and in D.C. Let us assume that Trump in fact receives a prison sentence. Why is it then that Trump would lose the right to vote and yet still be able to run for President? Now it is true that Eugene Debs ran for President under the Socialist Party banner in the 1920 election while in prison for sedition. Nevertheless, it seems an egregious inconsistency that a jailed felon cannot vote for President but can run for the White House. In Debs case, there was never any question that he would be elected winning all of 3% of the vote. The same cannot be said for Trump.
So, let us suppose a plurality of the American electorate sees Trump's convictions in New York as less objectionable than President Biden's age and returns him to the White House. That would say a great deal about us and none of it good. It would mean this country would get the President we deserve, and Trump would give us what we deserve and give it to us good.
Given the fact a critical mass of Americans barely batted an eyelash at the deaths of over 1 million of their fellow Americans because of COVID, can we really be surprised if we see fit to elect a convicted felon to the White House?
With that said, we still have a little over five months before the election. Nothing has been written - yet. Perhaps this conviction along with Trump's other deficiencies in character will be just enough for a plurality of Americans to see that President Biden is a decent man who puts others before himself and deserves another chance to lead us for four more years.
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