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One World with Zain Asher
Donald Trump Found Guilty Of Falsifying Business Records; International Reaction To Trump's Guilty Verdict Coming In; ABC News Poll Finds Only Four Percent Of Trump Supporters Said They Would Withdraw Their Backing From Donald Trump If He Ends Up Being Convicted Of A Felony. Aired 12-1p ET
Aired May 31, 2024 - 12:00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[12:00:00]
ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello everyone, I'm Zain Asher in New York with a special edition of "ONE WORLD" this Hour.
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Bianna Golodryga. Donald Trump just held a news conference at Trump Tower in the last hour, one day after he
was found guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records.
ASHER: Yeah, the United States now in uncharted waters as it ushers in a brand new era of presidential politics. This is unprecedented.
GOLODRYGA: Yes, indeed. And a short time ago, we heard from the man at the center of it all, Donald Trump himself, now a convicted criminal. Trump
tried to delegitimize his conviction during a rambling, incoherent at times news conference that really couldn't make sense of what he was saying. He
decided not to use a teleprompter during the speech.
He lashed out at the judge, the Manhattan district attorney, immigrants, and what he called quote, "a group of fascists". Trump also repeated the
false claim that President Biden and the Justice Department were behind the prosecution.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT (R) AND CURRENT PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is a case where if they can do this to me, they can do this to anyone.
These are bad people. These are in many cases, I believe, sick people.
When you look at our country, what's happening where millions and millions of people are flowing in from all parts of the world, not just South
America, from Africa, from Asia, from the Middle East. And they're coming in from jails and prisons. And they're coming in from mental institutions
and insane asylums. They're coming in from all over the world into our country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: That was just a snippet of a 35 -- 40 minute press conference that Donald Trump held just moments ago. He did not take questions from the
press. Just to recap, on Thursday, Trump was found guilty on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in order to cover up a sex scandal
that might have threatened his 2016 campaign.
His lawyers, as you might expect, are vowing to appeal. CNN's Brynn Gingrass is live now from New York. Boy, what a press conference. He came
out swinging against the judge. He described the judge as a devil, said he has the face of an angel, but is really a devil. And just in terms of what
he said to sort of try to exonerate himself, he said, listen, he couldn't testify.
It wasn't a good idea, even though he wanted to testify. He couldn't. He was biased against it. But you got the impression, Brynn, that everything
he said in those 35 minutes was what he would have said had he been able to testify.
BRYNN GINGRASS, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, of course, Zain. And there are no questions being asked of him, right? So, a little bit
easier to go off on ramblings about what he could have done. Of course, he did have that option. He could have testified in his own defense at this
trial. His lawyers advised him it wasn't a good idea because they believe they would have brought -- the questions would have gone into his past and
that might have hurt him.
Also, just his demeanor. We know from watching him on the stand for the short time that he was on the stand for the civil fraud trial last year. I
mean, it was quite an event with the way he was sort of answering questions and defiant to the judge and the courtroom sort of, you know, overall
courtroom, how you're supposed to act.
So, well, you know, that's just Donald Trump. What we saw just right there in his speech was quintessential Donald Trump. Nothing really new to come
out of it when he has been angered about this trial for ever since the indictment came.
But look, he's got a sentencing ahead of them, as you said, in his sort of speech. He's brought up a number of points that aren't really true, but you
certainly can see where his defense team might be going after some appeals process, which they fully we expect that, right? They're going to file a
bunch of motions ahead of this July 11th sentencing date. And then after that, likely a number of appeals.
They've been talking about wanting to appeal on the basis of not having a fair jury, that this jurisdiction wasn't fair. Of course, they tried to get
a change of venue before the trial started. They in during the trial tried to file for mistrial based off a Stormy Daniels testimony.
So, likely that will be an appeal. So, we'll see what is coming onto the docket. As far as the D.A. is concerned, we don't know yet what he is going
to recommend to the judge when that sentencing date happens. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg was very coy about that, said, let our filing
speak. So, we'll be looking for those ahead of the 11th -- July 11th date, as well.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, the New York offenses were low level offenses that carry no mandatory punishment.
[12:05:00]
GINGRASS: Yeah.
GOLODRYGA: It's something that we heard the judge admonish the defense attorney yesterday or the day before in his closing argument --
GINGRASS: Right.
GOLODRYGA: -- when he said to the jury, you don't want to send this man to prison. Judge Merchan said that is not a definitive right now, as he
admonished the -- Todd Blanche for what he was saying there. So, we shall see what he ultimately decides. Obviously, the gag order is still in place,
as well, before July 11th and the sentencing takes place. Brynn Gingrass, thank you so much.
GINGRASS: Yup.
GOLODRYGA: Well, Joe Walsh is a former U.S. Republican congressman who joins us now live from Washington. And David Weinstein, a former state and
federal prosecutor, is in Miami, Florida. Welcome to you both. Joe, let me begin with you. Donald Trump is the first former president ever convicted
of a crime and now running again for president and the Republican nomination. However, Republicans and his allies try to spin this as a witch
hunt.
The fact that you have the majority, the vast majority of the party and some of the most prominent figures in the party rallying in his defense,
slamming this case and the process and then the conviction date coming just days, the sentencing coming just days before he is going to be officially
nominated at the Republican convention as the Republican nominee. What does that tell you about the state of the party right now?
JOE WALSH, FORMER U.S. HOUSE REPUBLICAN: Well, clearly the same old story. It's Trump's party, period. But it also tells us a lot, I think,
about this case. Trump's a lucky guy when you think about it. Three and a half years ago, he tried to overthrow an American election, and yet he's
not standing trial for that. Instead, he's standing trial for paying off a porn star.
And I think - and you alluded to this. It's not just his base. Many Republicans and independents who I've heard from over the last 12 hours are
really outraged at what they see as the unfairness of this case, of this indictment. Trump breathes and thrives when he can be the victim. And I
think this verdict politically is going to help him.
ASHER: I mean, it is quite remarkable, isn't it, that Donald Trump is well-positioned to beat President Biden, even though now he is technically
a convicted felon. I mean, you just sort of have to sit and absorb that for one second. David, let me bring you in, because what does the judge need to
weigh? What are the different factors the judge needs to weigh when he decides or during the sentencing hearing?
Obviously, age is a factor. First-time offender is obviously a factor, as well. There are lots of things in his favor, the fact that it's a Class E
felony. But also there were gag order violations, too. Just sort of walk us through how the judge will incorporate all of that into his decision,
David.
DAVID WEINSTEIN, FORMER STATE AND FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Well, you've named some of the factors he's going to consider to begin with. In terms of
things that are going to hurt him, sure. His violation of the gag order is the fact that he's contemptuous of the system, both in his public remarks,
as well as what he said that's in violation of the gag order.
Judge has to sort of weigh that against the conduct that was committed here. Remember, the sentence is punishment not only for him, but it's also
to serve a deterrent effect on others who might be thinking of doing the same thing. And from all reports, this judge is pretty harsh on even white-
collar defendants who have been convicted of crimes there.
You've got the number of counts --34. You've got the course of the conduct. How many years it took place over, the other people who were involved, the
efforts he took to cover it up and the efforts he undertook to do it both at the time it was occurring and then after the fact. And while no one is
going to expect him to admit that he was guilty of what's going on here, he has to show some contrition and some remorse.
That's something the judge is going to be considering here. And then in terms of incarceration, how difficult will it be to incarcerate a former
President along with the secret service protection that he's entitled to? Does that mean he's going to consider house arrest as an alternative or a
longer term of probation? Is he going to be looking at a fine, significant, or some sort of community service?
Again, not only as punishment, but to send a message. So, there are a lot of factors that the judge has to consider, and he's going to be assisted in
the pleadings that are filed by both the prosecution and defense, as well as the pre-sentence investigation report.
GOLODRYGA: I don't recall ever seeing Donald Trump express remorse or contrition. So, it's best to hold their breath to see if he's going to do
that before the judge on January or July 11th. But David, we did note that the gag order is still in place.
[12:10:01]
And as he was going on on his rambling speech there for a good 40 -- 45 minutes, we should note the judge gave him a lot of leeway here. But he
said there are specific parameters that you can't touch. And that is going after the jury. That is going after the witnesses.
He all but again attacked Michael Cohen. He didn't name him, but it was clear who he was speaking of. I don't know if you were able to hear his
comments, but in anything you heard, was the gag order violated just now?
DAVID WEINSTEIN, FORMER STATE AND FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: It's going to come close. Again, I didn't hear everything that he said, but look, the judge is
going to be looking at the same thing he's looked at before and now he's given him fair warning. You know, don't do it again.
I found you in contempt 10 times and next time it's going to be more severe. You know, is a judge going to hang his head on the technicality? I
think that he's going to be leery of doing that because that's just going to have an effect outside of the courtroom. The judge needs to control his
courtroom.
I think if the former President goes after the witnesses specifically by name, if he starts targeting jurors by description, by specifically saying
things about individual jurors as opposed to his lack of trust in the jury system itself, I think that's where the judge is going to bring him in and
have another contempt hearing and given the due process before he decides to hold them in contempt again.
ASHER: Joe, let me bring you in. Just in terms of how this, we know that obviously Donald Trump is continuing to raise money off of this verdict. I
believe they've raised about 34 million. But in terms of how this verdict might change the trajectory of a Trump presidency, if he were to be
elected, how much retribution will there be in a Trump presidency as a result of this verdict, do you think?
JOE WALSH, FORMER U.S. HOUSE REPUBLICANS: Oh, oh my gosh, people like me who publicly opposed Trump would leave this country because of that. Look,
I say this as someone who doesn't want Trump to win, who believes Trump is an existential threat to our democracy. This verdict, sadly, I think is
going to help Trump. And I think the rest of the country really needs to wake up to that.
We're going to have to beat him in November, because as you say, if he wins, there's going to be one thought on his mind, and that's retribution
and that's getting revenge, using the powers of his office to get revenge against anyone who spoke up against him or stood against him. He's promised
to do this. This is really scary.
GOLODRYGA: Joe, you've mentioned this a couple of times now, and I think it's fair to question whether this was the most severe of all cases, the
most serious, and whether this was the first that should have been presented to Americans, obviously, before the election. It will likely be
the only one that we've seen.
But I do have to ask, if we would have seen similar verdicts in the January 6th trial, if that had come to play, or the documents case in Florida, do
you think, and I'm not talking about his diehard supporters, but even some of the most prominent Republicans that were quick to come out and condemn
the process, condemn the verdict here, do you think we would have seen the same reaction from them in those cases?
WALSH: Absolutely not. Mitch McConnell would not have released a statement going after the verdict. Susan Collins wouldn't have said a damn thing if
he had been convicted for what he did to lead to January 6th. If he had been convicted for what he did down in Georgia and the classified
documents. Those are super serious indictments, and those would have been super serious convictions.
And I think with those, only Trump's base would have stood with him. But you would have seen much greater peel off of Republicans, and certainly
independents wouldn't have stood with him, like I sadly believe they'll stand with him on this one.
GOLODRYGA: Interesting. All right, David Weinstein, Joe Walsh, thank you both.
ASHER: Thank you.
WALSH: Thanks.
WEINSTEIN: You're welcome.
ASHER: A lot of people are saying that given how fragmented the Republican Party actually is right now, that this verdict actually helps unify them --
GOLODRYGA: Yeah.
ASHER: -- against the fact that they believe that this verdict was rigged and obviously coming out and supporting Donald Trump. If you want a future
in the Republican Party, if you are a congressman, a woman, you have to support him.
GOLODRYGA: I mean, Donald Trump is the Republican Party essentially at this point. Well, international reaction to the verdict has been coming in.
The world literally has been watching. And while some countries declined to comment, Donald Trump is getting support from a few predictable places.
ASHER: That's right. Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov in a daily call to journalists suggested there was a political conspiracy at play, while
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban called Mr. Trump a man of honor. For much more on global reaction, let's bring in CNN's Nada Bashir, who joins
us live now from London.
[12:15:03]
Quite predictable reaction we're seeing from the Kremlin. But you have others, for example, in the U.K. where you are, Nada, Rishi Sunak staying
silent on this.
NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Certainly. And this is a delicate situation for some of those allied nations of the United States. As you've
just been discussing, this is a crucial election year. So, we are seeing some nations in Europe and, of course, the United Kingdom biding their time
when it comes to a response with regards to this verdict.
But then again, we are seeing some somewhat predictable responses from nations in Europe and indeed in Russia, as well. Nations that have been
friendly in the past with President Trump and, of course, nations where there is a significant far-right political presence.
Now, further to that comment you heard there from Dmitry Peskov speaking to journalists earlier today, the Kremlin spokesperson, he went on to say that
it is obvious that political rivals are being eliminated there through all legal and illegal means.
We did hear from the State Department, Secretary of State Antony Blinken who responded to this saying it is a classic case of projection. In his
words, we've also heard from the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban saying, "Let the people make their verdict this November, keep on fighting,
Mr. President."
And we had a similar message from Italy's Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini who called this verdict a case of judicial harassment. In his
words, saying in Italy, we are sadly familiar with the weaponization of the justice system by the left who he said for years has tried to eliminate
political opponents through legal means.
Now, there have been other nations which have declined to comment, including Germany. A question was put to the Foreign Office spokesman
earlier this morning. He declined to comment. Rishi Sunak specifically said that he cannot be expected in the United Kingdom, of course, to respond or
comment on the domestic politics or judicial processes of another nation.
But this has been a case which has taken the front pages of some of the U.K.'s newspapers, of course, some of them catching up. The news came in
quite late last night in the United Kingdom, it has to be said. But the key message on those front pages, Trump found guilty.
Of course, we'll be waiting to see more reaction from nations across the European Union and, of course, here in the United Kingdom, whether we'll
see any further comment from the Prime Minister, who is himself fighting an election this year.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, and while it is unprecedented here in the United States to see a former President or a candidate who is convicted of a crime, it
isn't unprecedented on the global stage, even in some of our democratic allies. You look at Israel, you look at France, and there are a number of
countries where they've seen their elected officials put on trial and convicted, as well. Nada Bashir, thank you so much.
ASHER: Thank you, Nada.
GOLODRYGA: All right, coming up for us, more on Donald Trump's statement about his guilty conviction. We'll bring in CNN's fact-checker, oh boy, to
go through it line by line.
ASHER: Plus, the hush money case was the first trial, but of course, it certainly won't be the last. Ahead, we'll take a look at three other
indictments that Donald Trump is facing, as well.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:20:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: All right, back now to our top story. Using words like a scam and rigged, Donald Trump went on a rambling rampage a short time ago in
response to his conviction yesterday on 34 felony counts.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, he attacked the judge and how the case was handled, and then he railed against Michael Cohen without mentioning his name, likely
out of fear of violating the gag order against him in this case. Trump spoke about that order, calling it unfair and a form of election
interference.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We just went through one of many experiences where we had a conflicted judge -- highly conflicted. There's never been a more conflicted
judge. Now, I'm under a gag order, which nobody's ever been under. No presidential candidate's ever been under a gag order before.
I'm under a gag order, nasty gag order, where I've had to pay thousands of dollars in penalties and fines and was threatened with jail. Think of it.
I'm the leading candidate. I'm leading Biden by a lot, and I'm leading the Republicans to the point where that's over. So, I'm the leading person for
President and I'm under a gag order.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: And the hush money trial is, of course, not the last of Donald Trump's legal troubles. The presumptive Republican presidential nominee has
been indicted in three other criminal cases. Fulton County District Attorney Fannie Willis charged Trump and 18 others in connection with their
attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.
Trump is also facing charges in two federal cases that were brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith, including conspiring to overturn the results of
the 2020 presidential election and illegally retaining classified documents. CNN's Jessica Schneider joins us now live from Washington.
Jessica, as we noted, this hush money case in New York, likely the only one we're going to see before the election. Where did the other, let's just
start with Jack Smith's cases, stand right now, the documents case in Florida and obviously January 6th in Washington?
JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Trump team legal strategy has been delay, delay, delay. And they've been successful in all of the cases
except, of course, for the hush money case where Donald Trump was found guilty 34 times yesterday.
So, like you said, let's take it from the special counsel's two cases, Jack Smith. There was the case that he brought in D.C. involving January 6th
interference with the electoral process. That case has been indefinitely paused because the Supreme Court is considering Donald Trump's claims of
immunity. The Supreme Court heard arguments in April and it is likely, it is very certain actually, that in the next month they will issue a
decision.
It's unlikely they'd find Donald Trump completely immune from any prosecution. But the problem will be that either they or the lower court
will have to define which official acts by a President should be immune from prosecution. And what that means is that this court case will likely
drag out far beyond the November election.
So, that one's on hold, unlikely to go before the November election. Then you have the classified documents case down in Florida, also brought by the
special counsel Jack Smith. That case has been moving forward, but at a very slow pace. In defense of the judge down there, she is Trump-appointed.
Her name is Aileen Cannon.
She's been going very slow because this does involve very tricky issues of classified documents that she has to go through. But she's also been
criticized because even on some more minor issues, she's sort of taken her time deciding on certain motions. In fact, coming up in mid-June, we have
several days of hearings on an issue or a few issues.
So, that case is moving very slowly, very unlikely that that case will happen before the election, too. There was an August trial date that has
been also indefinitely paused. And then, guys, there's a case out of Georgia, which we thought might go to trial before the election. But it
turns out there's been a number of appeals in that case.
The lower court judge had ruled that Fani Willis didn't need to be disqualified because of her romantic relationship with the lead prosecutor
in that case. However, that issue about disqualification has been appealed to the Georgia Court of Appeals.
[12:25:04]
And they have expected to hear the case but it's unclear what the timing will be on the appeal. It could be weeks. It could be months. So, that case
is also at an indefinite pause. So, Bianna and Zain, the Trump team strategy of delay, delay, delay, it is at least working in those three
other cases, despite this big guilty verdict that we had yesterday in New York state court. So, that could likely be the only case that actually goes
to trial and reaches a conclusion before Election Day. Guys.
GOLODRYGA: Jessica Schneider, so methodically breaking it all down --
ASHER: Thank you. I was riveted.
GOLODRYGA: -- for us. Yes.
ASHER: Jessica, that was very great.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. Thank you.
SCHNEIDER: My pleasure.
ASHER: All right. So, the big question now is how much of what Donald Trump said was actually true and how much of it was a little bit of a fib?
Our senior fact checker and senior reporter Daniel Day joins us live now from Washington. So, you've been busy, Daniel.
DANIEL DALE, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: I've been busy as I usually am on days when Donald Trump speaks. So, I could do my own rambling monologue breaking
down the lies or you can ask me specific questions, whatever you prefer.
ASHER: Okay.
GOLODRYGA : Well, this one was extra --
ASHER: The cliff notes in terms of how much of what he said was actually true.
DALE: So, I don't have a specific percentage for you, but a lot of it was false or highly misleading. So, he repeated his familiar claim that this
whole case was done by Joe Biden and his White House, not a shred of evidence for that. The case was brought by a locally elected prosecutor who
does not even report to the federal government.
He repeated a claim he's been making this week that the judge completely barred the testimony of a leading expert in election law. Also not true.
The judge did limit the scope of the possible testimony of this expert, but did not, contrary to what Trump said, say he could not testify at all.
He repeated his claim that a key witness for the prosecution, Trump's former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, went to prison himself for stuff
that Trump said had nothing to do with me. It was his own crimes. Misleading at best, because while there were some Cohen crimes that were
not directly related to Trump, others were directly related to Trump.
But among the things Cohen went to prison for were campaign finance violations about this very same hush money scheme that Trump's trial
centered on. So, directly related. And he also repeated this claim that he keeps saying that, you know, while prosecutors in New York were focused on
him, you know, a senior citizen, a non-violent person, crime is running rampant in New York, and indeed, he said, is at unprecedented levels.
That is not even close to true. As people may know, if they visited New York in the early 1990s, crime has plummeted over the last couple or few
decades in New York. For example, New York had 2262 murders in 1990. Last year it was 391 -- so way down. You have similar declines for other forms
of crime. So, this claim from Mr. Trump, not even close to correct.
GOLODRYGA: Daniel, can I ask you a personal question? Do you start to have a heart palpitations when you find out that Trump is about to speak and
without a teleprompter?
DALE: I honestly don't, because in some ways, although he's the hardest person to fact check because of sheer quantity, he's also the easiest
because he repeats the same false claims over and over for months. So, by the time he does one of these big speeches, chances are I've already fact
checked it from some lower profile forum and I can just rattle it off.
ASHER: Yeah, you're used to it.
GOLODRYGA: There's a formula.
ASHER: We've all had it.
DALE: It's a weird form of expertise, but apparently I have it.
GOLODRYGA: Daniel Dale.
ASHER: If he wins the election in November, you'll be very busy indeed.
GOLODRYGA: Job security. Yeah.
ASHER: Thanks, Daniel.
DALE: Thank you.
ASHER: All right, still to come here on "ONE WORLD". What does the Biden campaign think of the Trump verdict? We'll take you to Washington to find
out.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:30:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VOICE-OVER: This is CNN Breaking News.
ASHER: Welcome back to "ONE WORLD". I'm Zain Asher.
GOLODRYGA: And I'm Bianna Golodryga.
ASHER: All right, we continue to cover Donald Trump's reaction to his history making conviction on 34 felony counts. The Trump campaign had told
the media that he would take questions after delivering remarks at the Trump Tower this morning.
GOLODRYGA: Instead, he spoke for just under 40 minutes and then walked off without fielding any questions. Trump's speech was freewheeling and
unscripted, at times incoherent, at one moment focused on the hush money trial and veering off to some unrelated tangents. But he made sure to blame
it all on Joe Biden.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: And they are in total conjunction with the White House and the DOJ, just so you understand. This is all done by Biden and his people, maybe his
people more importantly. I don't know. Biden knows too much about it because I don't know if he knows about anything. But he's nevertheless the
President. So, we have to use his name.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: As you just saw that Donald Trump has been talking to the media. But after Thursday's verdict, President Biden remained out of public eye at
his home in Delaware. Earlier today, he returned to the White House, but he has not as of yet made any public comments.
GOLODRYGA: The Biden campaign, though, is speaking out, slamming the former President, saying, quote, there's only one way to keep Donald Trump
out of the Oval Office, and that is at the ballot box. Meanwhile, two officials tell CNN that Biden aides in the West Wing were transfixed as
Thursday's verdict came in.
Let's go live now to CNN Senior White House Reporter Kevin Liptak. Kevin, we are hearing right now just moments ago from the President saying Donald
Trump is attacking the U.S. court system and that is a threat to democracy. And we're expected to hear more from him specifically related to the Middle
East. That could happen in the next few minutes. What more are we hearing about the Biden team's vision and how they're planning now to address the
fact that their rival is a convicted felon?
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah, and certainly officials aren't ruling out the possibility that the President could answer
a question about this during his statement on the Middle East, which should happen in a few minutes from now. But really, at the end of the day, there
is no playbook that the President has to follow here.
You know, a Presidential candidate, a sitting president has never faced off from someone who was suddenly convicted of a felony five months before the
election. And as the sitting President, I think President Biden does feel this conviction that weighing in too heavily on the side of the courts
could potentially lend pretext to President Trump's false accusations that this is somehow orchestrated by the White House and by President Biden.
[12:35:14]
So, he is sort of caught in a bind of his own making. Certainly, there are plenty of Democrats who are eager for President Biden to come out swinging,
to begin labeling Trump as a convicted felon, to really emphasize this as a part of his campaign. I think if there's one thing that the Biden staffers
are looking at and sort of cheered by is the fact that this has put President Trump back in the spotlight, back in the living rooms and on the
airwaves of more and more Americans.
And they really do feel that as more voters come to regard President Trump as the likely Republican nominee and come to take into account the prospect
that he could return to the Oval Office, the better Biden will do and the better he will fare in November. So, they are looking at an advantage
there. But at the end of the day, President Biden really hasn't said much about this trial at all since its inception.
He has poked fun at Trump over the course of the trial, saying, for instance, that he's free on Wednesdays. The campaign did send its new
surrogate, Robert De Niro, down to the courthouse to sort of yell at the crowd and yell at reporters. But they haven't necessarily seized this as a
major opportunity. You do see them fundraising off of it.
This is the last day of May, which is a key fundraising deadline. And certainly they want to use that to their advantage. But President Biden is
very much walking a fine line and very much wanting to strike this balance that doesn't necessarily turn this into a political circus. I think many
Democrats will already say, you know, it's a political circus already.
There's not much that President Biden can say that is going to stop Trump from claiming that this is an orchestration by Democrats. And so, it will
be interesting to see if he answers a question today, how exactly he will phrase it, guys.
GOLODRYGA: Of course, we'll bring you his comments live when he begins to speak. Kevin Liptak, thank you.
ASHER: And let's get more insight now from CNN Political Commentator S.E. Cupp. S.E., good to be with you. Okay, there you are.
S.E. CUPP, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Hi.
ASHER: So, a recent ABC News poll found that only four percent of Trump supporters said that they would withdraw their backing from Donald Trump if
he ends up being convicted of a felony. This was obviously before yesterday. And another 16 percent said that they would reconsider it. There
are 101 reasons, S.E., why Americans should care about this. But how much do Americans actually care about this verdict, do you think?
CUP: Yeah, I mean, I think a lot of people care. I think if you're in a camp that cares about democracy, cares about law and order and the rule of
law, cares about fairness and justice, then this matters to you.
ASHER: But enough to change your mind, though, Essie. But enough to change your mind. It's one thing to care. It's one thing to care. You talk about
people who care about democracy, but it's another thing to care enough to make you change your mind about Donald Trump.
CUPP: Well, no, what I was going to say is I think for a lot of people, their minds are made up
ASHER: Right.
CUPP: -- about Donald Trump and this will have no impact. But I think more importantly, we're looking at swing states, right? Those are the states
that are going to decide this and they could decide this election by a couple thousand votes. And there are a lot of people out in America who are
hurting. And if you haven't gotten a raise in five years, you can't afford to buy a home.
You're rationing your money week to week to afford gas and groceries. I don't think you care about this verdict. I think you care about inflation.
You care about immigration. You care about crime. You care about a lot of other things. This is just not on the radar, I think, for a lot of voters.
But we won't know until November how this all really factors into this election.
GOLODRYGA: S.E., you're talking about you said this verdict, and I'm wondering if you agree with Joe Walsh, who was on with us earlier this
hour, who said that if this had been a guilty verdict in the January 6th case or in the documents case, that not his die hard, you know, ardent
supporters, but some other significant mainstream Republicans that have come out quickly in his support now wouldn't do -- wouldn't have done so.
Do you think that that is the case? Do you think that Americans and Republicans and independents, who you say are rightly so focused on other
issues like their own pocketbooks, the economy, inflation, do you think that they would have cared?
CUPP: I think there's a segment of the population that would have cared a bit more about that verdict, but Republicans are already on Trump's side
when it comes to January 6th. You remember in the days after, Bianna, we covered it together. A lot of Republicans blamed him for January 6th.
[12:40:03]
That moment has passed. They've all come back to Donald Trump's side. They're calling Jan 6th insurrectionists patriots. They're saying Trump
should pardon them. I mean, I don't think he could do anything to lose Republicans, certainly not, you know, Republicans in Congress and the
Senate.
ASHER: But this idea of, you know, Trump ends up and we've been talking about sentencing on July 11th and what Judge Merchan might end up doing.
Obviously, he could. There is a small chance that he could go to jail. But perhaps what a lot of people are saying is more likely is that he could be
sort of it could be home confinement for him.
But this idea of Donald Trump actually being forced to just do virtual campaign events and virtual campaign rallies until possibly November, how
much of an impact does that have on the election, do you think, a few months out?
CUPP: I think it'll remind everybody every single day if he's doing those virtual, you know, virtual appearances of the position he's in, which is
that he's a convicted criminal. And that plays both ways. That, I think, pleases some people and motivates them to go out and vote for Joe Biden. I
think it pisses off a lot of other people who think that this was all rigged and was a witch hunt.
But I think some Republicans actually prefer this outcome. Now, they get to go and talk about the witch hunt. They don't want to be talking about
women's reproductive rights, for example. They want to be talking about this because it is almost entirely Trump's entire campaign. And it goes to
all the things that they've been sort of ginning up their base about -- the deep state and the witch hunts and the corrupt Biden administration. They
want to be talking about this.
Now, there are other Republicans down ballot who really want -- who really want to be talking about "Bidenflation" or migration or, you know,
immigrants in the migrant crisis or crime. And it's going to be really hard for them to stay on message with that.
GOLODRYGA: All right, S.E. Cupp, great to see you. We appreciate the time.
ASHER: Thank you, S.E.
GOLODRYGA: All right, still to come for us, he may be a convicted felon, but Donald Trump is still the darling of the Republican Party. We'll look
at what that could mean for the U.S. election in November.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:45:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: All right, Donald Trump's sentencing hearing is set for July 11th. Ahead of that, he is getting a lot of support from Republican lawmakers.
They're racing to his defense, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, who had this to say after the verdict. Let me read it for you. "Today is a
shameful day in American history. Democrats cheered as they convicted the leader of the opposing party on ridiculous charges."
GOLODRYGA: Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik is calling the verdict, in her words, corrupt and rigged. Political observers point out that
Stefanik could be a possible running mate. CNN's Annie Grayer is live for us from Washington.
I guess this is the least surprising reaction much anticipated from most Republicans, most elected Republican elected officials, especially those
who are vying for the number two -- the V.P. spot on the ticket here. What stands out to you the most, Annie, from what we've heard, thus far, from
Republicans publicly?
ANNIE GRAYER, CNN REPORTER: Well, we're already seeing some of Trump's biggest allies on Capitol Hill springing into action. Jim Jordan, who
chairs the House Judiciary Committee, has scheduled a hearing for June 13th trying to bring in Alvin Bragg and his top prosecutor who brought the case
against Trump that led to this guilty verdict. So, we're seeing some of Trump's biggest allies on the Hill use their positions of power in Congress
to try and play defense for Trump.
This is a familiar playbook that we've seen as Trump has faced multiple cases in the last year and since Republicans have taken over the majority.
But more broadly, since the verdict, guilty verdict came in, we saw very quickly Trump's allies kind of just blindly jumping to his defense and
trying to undermine the verdict and really try and paint this as a political persecution of the former President who are they supporting for
re-election.
And what's interesting to compare this to is where we see maybe some silences from other Republican leaders or even kind of delayed responses.
If you compare when Speaker Mike Johnson put out that statement that you read, that was moments after the guilty verdict came in. It took Mitch
McConnell, who's the Republican leader in the Senate, hours to put out a statement. And it's no history, the frosty relationship between Trump and
McConnell there.
So, while we're seeing Trump's allies full steam ahead, like Jordan, like Stefanik, like Speaker Johnson, using their positions of power and trying
to play defense for Trump and undermine this guilty verdict, there are some others, Republicans in Congress who know that this is a litmus test in
their party who are, you know, being much more careful about how they handle this.
ASHER: Annie, what do Republicans risk by not standing with Donald Trump at a moment like this?
GRAYER: I mean, we can't discount the political ramifications here. I think we've seen time and time again, Republicans who are not supportive of
the former President and how that hurts them politically in their own races. I mean, Republicans are trying to keep the House. They have a very
narrow margin. A lot of the key races they have to win are in districts where President Biden has won.
So, this is a delicate balance that a lot of lawmakers are trying to walk, which is be true to their districts, but also acknowledge the fact that
Donald Trump is the leader of the Republican Party. So, we are seeing a lot of lawmakers try and make that calculus because there's a lot of political
perils and loopholes that they could fall into.
GOLODRYGA: I mean, before this verdict was even announced, the fact that former Maryland governor and now candidate for senator there from the state
said, just tweeted that whatever the react -- the response is going to be, the decision is going to be that everyone should just respect the judicial
process. The fact that that statement alone received so much condemnation and response -- for negative response from the Trump campaign speaks
volumes. Annie Grayer, thank you.
GRAYER: Thanks.
ASHER: All right. Donald Trump's legal troubles may be costing him in other ways, as well. Shares of Truth Social's parent company took a
beating. The big question is, can they call their way back? We'll have an update for you after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:50:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: All right, Donald Trump's wife, Melania, and their son, Barron, were noticeably absent from the courtroom on Thursday, even though both
were actually in New York at the time. Sources familiar with the couple tell CNN it's not surprising that Mrs. Trump hasn't been present in court.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, Abby Phillips spoke with a long-time -- former long-time advisor to Melania Trump about the former First Lady's possible take on
this trial.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHANIE WINSTON WOLKOFF, AUTHOR, "MELANIA AND ME": I think that, you know, Donald finally got caught. And along the way, Melania knew exactly
who she married. She knew that this was a transactional marriage. She became a top model. He became a, you know, loving, doting father. And it
set them up for their run for the White House.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: But since Donald Trump's conviction Thursday, shares of Truth Social's parent company have been on a roller coaster ride. They plummeted
Thursday, then opened higher Friday before falling again.
GOLODRYGA: The social media site is owned by the Trump Media and Technology Group. It looks right now like the stocks are down
significantly, over seven percent. Former President Trump is the company's chairman and primary shareholder.
ASHER: On paper, his 144 million shares are worth more than $5 billion. However, financial experts say that number does not truly reflect that the
company is a relatively small player in social media that actually generates very little revenue. Let's bring in Matt Egan, who's been
following the trading and joins us live now.
So, Matt, immediately after the verdict, we did see some pretty wild swings. I mean, it was down about 15 percent. But since that point in time,
yes, it's still down, but it has recovered quite a bit. Take us through it.
MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Well, Zain and Bianna, you know, criminal convictions don't typically move stocks. But this was not any conviction.
And this is definitely not any stock, right? I mean, Trump Media has been ridiculously volatile since it started trading two months ago.
And so, as you pointed out, in the minutes after this conviction became known, we saw the stock go down 15 percent last night, but then it battled
back and even opened the day four percent higher. But as you can see, it's down seven and a half percent near the lowest levels of the day.
Now, the fact that it's moving around on this legal news makes some sense because the former president is inextricably linked to this company, right?
He is not just the chairman. He's the most popular user on Truth Social. He owns this dominant stake of 115 million shares worth around $6 billion. I
mean, the ticker symbol is even DJT.
Analysts say that in a lot of ways, this stock really is a bet on Trump, a bet on Trump winning the White House and making Truth Social the official
presidential platform for communications. And so, it does seem as though we're going to continue to see it bounce around as everyone tries to make
sense of exactly what this historic conviction means for the political landscape.
And for this company, analysts are still scratching their heads about how it is worth billions of dollars.
[12:55:01]
Because again, Truth Social -- it's a very tiny player in social media. It's actually gotten even smaller. The company is losing a lot of money and
it generated just $771,000 in revenue in the first quarter. It was actually the second straight quarter of sub one million dollars in revenue.
Typically, companies that are generating that kind of revenue are valued in the millions, not the billions of dollars.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, we should have a whole segment on what its true valuation is at this point, because a lot of people think that it is overinflated, as
you just explained. It's a small player in this space and yet really significantly valued, especially leading up to its IPO a few months ago.
Matt Egan, thank you so much.
ASHER: Thank you, Matt.
GOLODRYGA: Well, that does it for this hour of "ONE WORLD". Thanks so much for watching. I'm Bianna Golodryga.
ASHER: Quite the hour.
GOLODRYGA: Oh my goodness, every day.
ASHER: I'm Zain Asher. Appreciate you watching. "AMANPOUR" is up next. You're watching CNN.
END
