Biden will speak on the Democrat-led political show trial from the White House in a bid to appear LESS political, according to reports.
Joe Biden will address former President Donald Trump’s New York City “hush money” trial when the jury delivers its verdict, according to reports.
According to Politico, Biden will deliver a message tailored to the outcome of the trial, whether he’s convicted, acquitted, or the jury cannot agree on a verdict, and will stress that the legal system worked and the American people should respect the process.
Biden also believes delivering an address “in a White House setting” will make him appear less political.
From Politico:
If the jury convicts Trump, Biden’s team will then argue that the result shows Trump is ill-suited for office and that it demonstrates the extremes to which the former president would go to win again. The campaign’s social media team is considering leveraging the line of attack further, with discussions underway about referring to the ex-president online as “Convicted Felon Donald Trump.”
His team is also preparing for a barrage of Republican and Trump attacks if the former president’s acquitted or if there’s a hung jury.
Closing arguments are set for Tuesday and the jury could reach its decision as early as next week. And Biden will speak at some point after that — a definitive decision on timing and setting has not yet been made — no matter the outcome, whether it be a conviction, acquittal or hung jury. The message will be different for specific rulings, but the fundamental point will remain the same: That America’s legal system worked and that the process should be respected.
One of the four anonymous people familiar with the deliberations said it’s critical that the American people believe the legal system works, “especially in an election year.”
“This is an important moment and the president first and foremost needs to stress that the American system works, even and especially in an election year,” the individual said. “And in a measured way, it becomes part of his argument against Trump too: Do Americans really want this?”
Politico claimed that Biden “will likely discuss a guilty verdict at times on the campaign trail,” but his team “doesn’t view even a conviction as likely to meaningfully change the trajectory of the campaign.”
“Aides do not believe the trial has resonated widely with voters outside the Acela corridor,” Politico reported. “But it could make a difference along the margins, and that may matter in a race expected to be extremely close.”
The report went on to detail how Democrats anticipating a guilty verdict are divided on how to approach it politically.
Jennifer Palmieri, former communications director for President Barack Obama, said, “I don’t think [Biden] needs to run to the briefing room to talk about this.”
“But, at some point, he should address the conviction saying that a jury of Donald Trump’s peers have convicted him of a crime and it would do extraordinary damage to the standing of the United States and to the credibility of our democratic system for someone Americans found guilty of a crime to then be elected president.”
Likewise, Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) cautioned his colleagues not to openly celebrate Trump’s conviction.
“I don’t think it’s important to rub it in,” he said. “I don’t think anybody on our side should be reacting with glee. It just should be a tragedy that an American president has been convicted of real crimes.”
Matt Bennett, executive vice president for public affairs at the center-left think tank Third Way, said Biden should stay out of the fray if Trump is convicted.
“If he’s convicted, he will be called by everyone in Democratic politics ‘convicted felon Donald Trump,’” Bennett said.
Biden doesn’t “need to engage with it, because everyone else will,” he added.
Given the tone of the report, Democrats view a conviction as the most likely outcome of the “hush money” trial, which isn’t surprising considering the makeup of the jury in deep blue Manhattan.
Additionally, Judge Juan Merchan told the jury they don’t have to agree on a “predicate crime” Trump allegedly committed, whether that be campaign finance violations or tax evasion.
To find Trump guilty of felony-level falsification of business documents, the jury must unanimously find that Trump falsified the documents in order to commit or conceal a separate crime. But the jurors do not all have to agree on what that separate crime was, Justice Juan Merchan ruled.
Biden’s upcoming speech from the White House, contrary to his belief it will make him look less political, will actually convey the opposite, critics claim.
“Why are they putting this message out now? To send a message to the judge and jury that the White House is watching them. Sickening,” former Trump adviser Stephen Miller posted on X.
Why are they putting this message out now? To send a message to the judge and jury that the White House is watching them. Sickening. https://t.co/XkaifGqFsa
— Stephen Miller (@StephenM) May 25, 2024
Biden plans to gloat over Trump show trial conviction from the White House: report https://t.co/kDBUdEvOIh via @nypost
— Mollie (@MZHemingway) May 25, 2024
Removing all doubt about it being lawfare. https://t.co/mY3jrr4Qee
— Scott Adams (@ScottAdamsSays) May 25, 2024
LAWFARE: The White House has announced that President Biden will hold a national address from the Oval Office following the verdict in DA Alvin Bragg’s bookkeeping case against Trump. It is expected to be Biden’s most watched address of his presidency. pic.twitter.com/DE7XKZSIls
— @amuse (@amuse) May 25, 2024
