denial, excess and lies… the defense system of the former American president does not change

Since Thursday, Donald Trump has been the first ex-president in the history of the United States to be found criminally guilty, following a trial for hidden payments to Stormy Daniels, a porn star. True to form, he denounces a witch hunt.

This is a historic conviction for a former American president. Donald Trump is therefore found guilty on Wednesday May 30 in the “Stormy Daniels” affair. The sentence will be pronounced on July 11, but this judgment will not prevent him from being a presidential candidate. And it will surprise no one, he remains faithful to his strategy and denounces a lawsuit “rigged“.

Denial, excess and lies, Donald Trump’s defense system has in fact not changed since 2016. If we had to summarize these six weeks of trial, it would take much more than the two minutes of this column to list all his invectives against the judges, against his Democratic opponents, all his conspiratorial flights in the role he plays best since he lost the election in 2020: that of victim.

Leaving the courtroom, with a grimace on his face, the one who in a decade has turned American democracy upside down is therefore logically speaking of a trial.fake and shameful“. He assures that he has done nothing wrong, and describes himself in “(very) innocent man”, rather incongruous wording. “ It’s okay, I fight for our country “, Mr. Trump told reporters in the court corridor, immediately after the verdict. “We will fight to the end and we will win.” Combative and raising his fist before rushing into Trump Tower, on Fifth Avenue.

True to form, he also spoke on his social network, Truth Social, designed as a conservative and republican “alternative” to Facebook or Twitter to which he never wanted to return. Since Thursday evening, Donald Trump has multiplied posts written in capital letters with exclamation points, talking about “witch hunt“, of “corrupt judges” and D'”interference in the election“.

In court, before even speaking to journalists, he took his smartphone to share a fundraising appeal for his campaign, with these words: “I am a political prisoner”, expression used for his supporters charged in the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol. The verdict also triggered an influx of donations which literally overwhelmed the Republican Party’s online collection platform on Thursday. The site remained inaccessible for at least half an hour.

Deprived of campaigning on the ground since mid-April, Donald Trump still used his trial to capture media attention. His arguments work today with his base, galvanized by the judgment. The faithful among the faithful are crying scandal, using the language of the former president and judging that his unjustified conviction will make him even worse. “more popular in the eyes of the people“. Some are even calling to take to the streets to support him, convinced that the verdict will be overturned on appeal.

It is not clear that this conviction will have a major impact on the electorate of more moderate Republicans. A few days ago, Donald Trump’s campaign team released a poll showing that a possible conviction would not have a significant impact on the vote, with the majority of voters not following the trial closely.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson speaks, “of a shameful day in American history“. This is the first of four criminal trials that Donald Trump is facing in his new attempt to access the White House. The others will likely take place after the presidential election.