In the aftermath of his historic felony conviction, former President Donald Trump went all-in to denounce the verdict. Among other statements, he claimed to be the victim of a “rigged” and “disgraceful” trial; called Judge Juan Merchan, who presided over his case, “a devil"; ranted against witnesses who testified against him; proclaimed himself “a very innocent man"; and warned his supporters that “If they can do this to me, they can do this to anyone.”
But Trump also made one statement that rings true, though not in the way he meant it: “The real verdict is going to be Nov. 5 by the people.”
Trump was clearly alluding to his goal of winning reelection. But in a very real sense, Americans will render the most consequential decision yet regarding the former president when they decide on Election Day: Should a convicted felon become president?
That Trump is now a felon but is still eligible to run for president is part of what makes his conviction in a Manhattan criminal court on Thursday historic and unprecedented, as overused as those words have been in recent days. In addition, there are the three additional criminal indictments Trump faces for far more serious crime: two federal indictments, one for allegedly mishandling classified government documents and another for allegedly trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election; plus a Georgia case in which he and others were charged with seeking to overturn that state’s 2020 election results. Trials are pending in all three cases.
Despite those multiple indictments and his conviction — for falsifying documents to hide hush money payments to a porn star, in order to protect his 2016 presidential campaign — Trump is not barred from seeking the presidency again. The requirements set by the U.S. Constitution are that a candidate be at least 35 years old, a natural-born citizen and have lived in the U.S. for at least 14 years. There’s no mention of barring felons from the presidency.
Trump remains on the ballot since efforts by states — including Illinois — to disqualify him as an insurrectionist were shot down by the U.S. Supreme Court in March. And barring a monumental last-minute shift by Republicans, Trump will be nominated at the party’s convention in July — just days after his scheduled July 11 sentencing.
Ironically, though Trump can run for president, many states would potentially bar him from voting, depending on his sentence, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. In Florida, where Trump is registered to vote, the rules are convoluted. Trump could vote as long as he avoids a prison sentence in New York, where he was convicted.
This is an unprecedented moment for America, but not for the rest of the world. Other countries have had leaders who were convicted after leaving office.
In November, the world will see if America stands out in another way, by sending a convicted felon back to office.
The Sun-Times welcomes letters to the editor and op-eds. See our guidelines.
