Donald Trump decries the court system after being found guilty following his hush money trial in New York (Picture: Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
Donald Trump is a ‘paranoid, self-absorbed individual’ according to a seasoned White House watcher who has been following the former US President’s hush money trial.
Mike Tappin said that Trump, who was found guilty of 34 charges of fraud by a jury in New York, is ‘totally untrustworthy’ and will pose an even bigger threat to his nation’s stability if he lands a second term in office at the presidential elections.
The verdicts delivered yesterday make the Republican nominee the first former or serving US president to be found guilty of a crime and mean he is running for the White House as a felon.
Trump reacted outside court by telling the media that the hearing was a ‘rigged trial by a conflicted judge who was corrupt’ and describing it as a ‘political witch hunt’ on his website.
Mr Tappin said: ‘Donald Trump is a paranoid, self-absorbed individual who thinks society is against him, particularly the judicial and political systems.
‘He’s totally untrustworthy.
Donald Trump has attacked the judge and political system throughout the court case (Picture: AP Photo/Seth Wenig, Pool)
‘My view as a political scientist is that Americans voted for this man as president of the United States once before, but he will be even more dangerous if he becomes president this time.
‘He has already said he would want to get rid of and shoot members of the senior military who he did not agree with and he is not prepared to accept the norms of the American constitution, which every other president has done while they have been in office and outside it.’
Trump, 77, is due to be sentenced on July 11, with the penalties including a prison stretch of up to four years. However given his age and clean prior record, he is likely to be handed a non-custodial sentence.
Even behind bars, the tycoon and former reality TV star is likely to retain his appeal to his ardent core supporters. After the verdict he launched a fundraising drive on his website, calling on ‘ten million pro-Trump patriots’ to ‘make Joe Biden regret ever coming after us’.
Mr Tappin, honorary fellow at Keele University and co-author of American Politics Today, said: ‘Trump has gathered around him the MAGA, or Make America Great Again, group, who probably make up 34% to 36% of the American electorate, who think he walks on water.
‘I don’t wish to sound irreverent, but he is not Jesus Christ.
Donald Trump looks on during his criminal trial for covering up a hush money payment (Picture: Steven Hirsch/Pool/AFP)
‘He is a man of many faults and when Americans go to the polls in November these will cause him problems in the presidential election.’
Political commentators are divided as to whether the convictions will reduce support for Trump in the run-up to the November election.
‘The current poll evidence shows that a large number of undecided voters will move towards Joe Biden because they see that Trump has had a fair trial, he has been convicted by his peers and he will accept his punishment,’ Mr Tappin said. ‘Particularly in the swing states like Michigan and Wisconsin, the evidence suggests this will do Biden a lot of good and damage Trump.
‘If he really fights this and continues to insult America’s justice system, it will only make things worse for his election chances.’
Donald Trump is depicted as the verdict is read at his trial (Picture: Reuters)
An anti-Trump protester outside the courthouse (Picture: EPA)
Appearing embittered outside court after the verdicts were announced, Trump told the media that ‘this is long from over’.
He showed his disdain for the active proceedings throughout the trial by posting on his Truth Social platform, calling Biden ‘crooked’ in one post.
Mr Tappin told Metro.co.uk that the root question of Trump’s character is one that the American electorate now need to consider.
‘As a politician you have to be like Snow White and look in in the mirror and ask “who is the fairest of them all?”,’ he said.
‘You are a very dumb politician if you do not listen to criticism and Donald Trump is a man who will not listen to or take criticism.
Supporters of Donald Trump outside the courthouse during jury deliberations in his felony trial (Picture: John Angelillo/UPI/Shutterstock)
Police stand between anti and pro-Trump demonstrators across the street from Manhattan Criminal Court (Picture: Angela Weiss/AFP)
‘He is a man with an attention span of a gnat. People who have been in his presence say he will not pay attention for even more than a couple of minutes and will go off and talk about his golf course in Scotland. This is the real problem for the American people: do you want a president like this?’
The 45th President of the United States was found guilty of falsifying business records to hush up a $130,000 payment made by his ex-fixer Michael Cohen to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
He is said to have committed the offences during his 2016 presidential campaign in order to silence her over an alleged sexual affair
A second Donald Trump presidency would bring even graver dangers according to a UK political scientist (Picture: EPA)
If Trump does lodge an appeal, the ramifications mean that he will remain free even if he is handed a prison sentence as his case would take months, and possibly up to a year, to conclude.
Under one scenario, he could be the serving US president while still waiting for his challenge to reach a conclusion.
Trump’s previous controversies have included suggesting that General Mark Milley, who at the time was the outgoing chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, deserved the death penalty.
In September 2023, Trump wrote on Truth Social that the top military leader was a ‘woke train wreck’ who would have been executed in previous times.
Mr Milley had previously alleged that Trump had showed a ‘disturbing’ lack of respect for the armed forces.
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