Leslie Dach: Seven Reasons Why Donald Trump’s New York Conviction Really Matters
By Leslie Dach
We entered a new chapter of American history when Donald Trump became the first-ever United States president to be convicted of a felony – he was actually convicted on 34 counts of felony to be exact. While the jury verdict is clear, the ultimate impact on the election is still undecided. Some feel that Trump’s conviction is resoundingly disqualifying: a little under half of independent voters, who will have a big role to play in November, believe that Trump needs to end his campaign now that he is a felon. Others wonder if this conviction will mean anything given that the man already incited a violent insurrection and is still somehow a major party nominee for president.
It is a mistake, however, to believe that Donald Trump’s conviction won’t matter. That’s undoubtedly what MAGA supporters want us to buy into. But the truth is that it matters a very great deal – now through election day. Here’s why:
1. Trump is finally being held accountable for his crimes. For almost a decade, we’ve all witnessed Trump do whatever he could to seize and hold power, with no regard for everyday Americans impacted by his misconduct. This verdict is the first step in making Trump face the consequences of his lies and actions against the American people.
2. Voters now know that the presumptive presidential nominee for the Republican Party is a convicted felon. CBS News polling shows that 51% do not consider Trump to be fit to be president now that he has been convicted of a crime including 50% of Independents. In other polling, 30% of undecided or third-party voters say Trump’s conviction makes them more likely to vote for Biden, more than twice the number of these voters that say the verdict makes them more likely to vote for Trump. In a Morning Consult poll, 49% of independents and 15% of Republicans think Trump should end his campaign because of the conviction.
3. It sends a message to the Supreme Court: Trump is not, and should not, be immune to consequences for his actions. The Supreme Court needs to stop playing partisan politics with the presidential immunity ruling and allow the January 6 election interference case – which the pro-Trump justices have endlessly delayed – to proceed to trial.
4. It makes clear to Trump that his attacks, intimidation, and delay tactics don’t work with a jury of everyday Americans, and demonstrates to the prosecutors in Trump’s other cases that evidence will prevail.
5. It creates a litmus test for other Republicans in Congress or elected office: either accept the jury’s decision or make it 1,000 percent clear to everyone that you put your fealty to a felon above the American system of justice and the right of Americans to pick their own leaders.
6. It tells future candidates in a non-MAGA world that you cannot illegally interfere in our elections without facing repercussions. If Trump gets away with breaking the law with impunity, what’s to stop other, future candidates whose singular goal is to seize power for themselves? What’s to stop MAGA candidates and Trump surrogates at the state and local level from acting with the same total disregard for the American people?
7. It shows that Donald Trump is a threat to our freedoms and our right to choose our own leaders. Trump has consistently demonstrated that he puts his own interests ahead of the country’s interests. His responses to the verdict, from promising revenge and retribution to condoning violence to sowing division and chaos, make him unqualified to lead.
But perhaps the most important reason this conviction is so critical is this: the guilty verdict sends a signal to those who are cynical about whether their votes matter that everyday Americans have the power to make a difference.
In New York, a jury of everyday Americans stood up to attacks and threats and held the former President of the United States accountable for 34 crimes. Every American who believes that Donald Trump is a threat to our country, our freedoms, and the progress we still need to make as a nation should know they too have the power to hold Donald Trump accountable.
Leslie Dach is the founder of Protect Our Care and senior advisor to the Defend Democracy Project, which is dedicated to ensuring that Americans decide the outcomes of our elections and works to protect the integrity of our electoral process against efforts to ignore, corrupt, or degrade democratic principles.
