Donald Trump is guilty but not ashamed. The question now is whether he will suffer politically for his crimes.
The first former American president convicted at trial — found guilty Thursday on all 34 counts of scheming to help his 2016 campaign by falsifying documents to cover up an alleged sexual encounter — Trump rallied quickly to raise money and votes from the verdict.
He blasted out a fundraising message to donors just minutes after the jury finished its work, and he vowed in the courthouse that "the real verdict is going to be Nov. 5 by the people" when he faces President Joe Biden in a rematch of their 2020 election.
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Biden agreed.
"There's only one way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office: At the ballot box," he said in a statement posted to X along with a link to donate to his campaign. He took no victory lap, uttered no insult and offered no prediction of Trump's political demise.
Trump also called himself a "political prisoner" in another fundraising appeal shortly after the verdict, even though he is not in prison.
There's simply no precedent for a convicted candidate carrying a major party's banner into a general election. Many political experts say it is too early to tell whether the outcome will add fuel to Trump's 2024 campaign or make it toxic to persuadable voters.
Democrats who spoke to NBC News on Thursday were split on whether Biden might get a bump from the verdict, with some seeing genuine upside to Trump's troubles and others expressing more doubt.
"This is the result we wanted and is another talking point against Trump but doesn't mean a lot for actual votes," said a Biden campaign official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to give an assessment without fear of retribution.
On the other side of the political divide, Republicans followed Trump's lead, voicing confidence that the jury's decision would create a powerful backlash in his favor.
James Blair, political director for the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee, conducted a conference call with GOP state party chairs shortly after the result was made public, according to two people who were on the call.
"There's a clear message they want us to convey," a participant said of Trump's political apparatus. "It is an unjust witch hunt. We will appeal, and we will win the appeal. Guys, we just elected the next president of the United States."
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