President Joe Biden laid into his predecessor and likely opponent in November’s election, Donald Trump, for being convicted by a Manhattan jury on 34 felony counts related to hush money payments, saying Monday night that “this campaign has entered uncharted territory.”
Quick Read
- President Joe Biden criticized Donald Trump for his conviction on 34 felony counts related to hush money payments, stating the campaign is now in “uncharted territory.”
- At a fundraiser in Greenwich, Connecticut, Biden emphasized that Trump’s claim of a rigged system is false and called such statements “reckless and dangerous.”
- Biden underscored the importance of the justice system to American democracy, saying, “we should never allow anyone to tear it down.”
- Trump was convicted for his involvement in a scheme during his 2016 campaign to pay off porn actor Stormy Daniels, a verdict he has denounced as politically motivated.
- Biden reiterated that the case was a state matter, decided by a unanimous jury after five weeks of evidence, and that Trump can appeal.
- Biden accused Trump of undermining both the judiciary and electoral systems, calling this attack “dangerous for American democracy.”
- The president did not address his son Hunter Biden’s federal gun case, which began the same day in Delaware.
- Trump campaign adviser Jason Miller responded to Biden’s comments, claiming the president is trying to distract from Hunter’s trial.
- Biden argued that Trump poses a greater threat now than he did in 2016, describing him as “worse” and “unhinged.”
- The fundraiser was hosted by former HBO CEO Richard Plepler and featured TV producer Shonda Rhimes, with Biden referencing a campaign ad narrated by actor Robert De Niro.
- Biden suggested Trump “snapped” after losing the 2020 election, leading to his supporters storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and accused Trump of wanting to “terminate the Constitution.”
The Associated Press has the story:
Biden lays into Trump over convictions, says he now poses a greater threat than in 2016
Newslooks- GREENWICH, Conn. (AP) —
President Joe Biden laid into his predecessor and likely opponent in November’s election, Donald Trump, for being convicted by a Manhattan jury on 34 felony counts related to hush money payments, saying Monday night that “this campaign has entered uncharted territory.”
Speaking at a fundraiser in Greenwich, Connecticut, Biden said the former president “wants you to believe it’s all rigged. Nothing could be further from the truth.”
Echoing comments he made in reaction to the verdict at the White House last week, Biden said, “It’s reckless and dangerous and downright irresponsible for anyone to say that it’s rigged just because you don’t like the verdict.”
He added that the justice system was a core of American democracy and “we should never allow anyone to tear it down.”
Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, was convicted on all counts related to a scheme during his 2016 presidential campaign to pay off porn actor Stormy Daniels, who said the two had sex. The former president slammed the verdict as politically motivated, and has blamed it on Biden — while seeking to make himself a political martyr in the eyes of supporters, suggesting that if this could happen to him, similar things might befall them.
As he did last week, Biden noted that Trump’s was a state case rather than a federal one, was heard by a jury chosen the same way all juries nationwide are chosen, and featured five weeks of evidence. He said the verdict was unanimous and Trump can appeal.
But Biden went farther Monday, accusing Trump of equating the justice system and elections. He said the former president was “attacking both the judiciary and elections system as rigged.”
“Nothing could be more dangerous for the country, more dangerous for American democracy,” Biden said.
The president made no mention of the federal gun case against his son, Hunter, which began Monday in Delaware. Jason Miller, a senior adviser for the Trump campaign, seized on that, responding to Biden’s comments by asserting that the president “will do anything to distract from Hunter’s trial.”
Both Trump’s convictions and his son’s case aside, Biden added, “Here’s what is becoming clearer and clearer every day: The threat Trump poses in his second term would be greater than it was in his first.”
“This isn’t the same Trump that got elected in 2016,” Biden said. “He’s worse.”
Biden was attending a fundraiser hosted by Richard Plepler, the former CEO of HBO, and featuring Shonda Rhimes, who created such television smashes as “Bridgerton,” “Scandal and ”Grey’s Anatomy.” Biden went on to reference a television ad his campaign has produced featuring another of his celebrity backers, actor Robert De Niro, narrating and asserting that Trump “snapped” after losing to Biden in 2020.
“Something snapped in this guy — for real — when he lost in 2020,” Biden said, suggesting the former president was “unhinged” and was the driving force behind a mob of his supporters overrunning the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
“He can’t accept the fact that he lost, it’s literally driving him crazy,” Biden said. He added that the former president “wants to terminate the Constitution” and “says if he loses there will be a bloodbath in America.”
“What kind of man is this?” Biden asked.
