As the jury is set to begin deliberating today, former President Donald Trump and his team are preparing for a possible conviction in his criminal New York hush money case. While there remains hope for a hung jury, legal advisers have privately warned Trump and his team to prepare for a possible conviction in the case.
Privately, Trump has asked allies what they think the outcome will be, while complaining that the trial is rigged against him. The former president has speculated that he will be convicted, citing the judge’s jury instructions as well as the fact the jury is comprised of residents of Manhattan, given the area’s liberal lean.
Despite the potential outcome, Trump’s advisers remains largely confident that the former president, his team and high profile Republicans have done the work in laying the groundwork in their messaging that the case was political from the start and that Trump was not ever going to get a fair trial. While advisers acknowledge that this is uncharted territory, ultimately, because of this messaging, they do not believe there will be a big impact on the general election in November.
“It’s all the about the messaging—pre-trial, during the trial and then after the trial,” one source close to Trump told CNN. “(The messaging) is only enhanced if there’s a conviction.”
Trump’s advisers said they didn’t believe that a potential conviction would dramatically impact Trump’s poll numbers and overall standing in the race. While noting that it was likely that some voters may decide they will not vote for him if he is convicted, they do not think that number of voters is sizable enough to have a real impact.
This optimistic posture from those close to Trump is starkly different from eight months ago, when advisers privately worried that a conviction in any of the cases against Trump could have the power to tank his third presidential bid. Advisers cited the former president’s consistent poll numbers despite the ongoing legal peril as well as the current state of the economy as reasons for the now-rosier outlook.
“The core issue voters care about continues to be inflation. Whether or not Donald Trump is convicted doesn’t change that,” the source said.
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