NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump still hasn't announced a running mate for the November election, but potential vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance backed the Republican frontrunner after he was convicted on 34 counts in his criminal hush money trial.
A New York jury found Trump guilty of all charges on Wednesday afternoon, making him the first American president to be convicted of a felony.
RELATED | Former President Donald Trump guilty on all counts in criminal hush money trial
Vance, who was previously in New York supporting Trump in court, said in a statement the verdict was "an absolute miscarriage of justice."
"While the outcome of this trial will no doubt be subject to appeal, it’s a disgrace to our judicial system that such measures will be necessary," Vance said in his statement. "The partisan slant of this jury pool shows why we ought to litigate politics at the ballot box and not in the courtroom. Ultimately, I have faith that the 2024 election will be decided by the American people, not corrupt judges and prosecutors."
Ohio Republican Party chairman Alex M. Triantafilou released a statement saying the party stands with Trump.
"This sideshow will only bolster our resolve to support President Trump against a machine of elites who have set out to destroy him," he said in part.
— Alex Triantafilou (@ChairmanAlex) May 30, 2024
The state's other senator, Democrat Sherrod Brown, did not release a statement on the verdict nor did the Ohio Democratic Party.
Northern Kentucky Rep. Rachel Roberts, the Kentucky Democratic Minority Whip, said in part to WCPO that "if a jury of his peers have found him guilty, then I have no reason not to have full faith in that jury."
Kentucky Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer, a Republican who represents part of Northern Kentucky, related the trial to "the horse who finished second to Secretariat" in the Kentucky Derby — referring to the horse "Sham."
While President Joe Biden's team has mostly stayed quiet during the trial, his campaign's communications director said in a statement the verdict "does not change the fact that ... there is still only one way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office: at the ballot box."
Trump himself called the verdict a "disgrace" and the trial "rigged," referring to the November election as "the real verdict." He is expected to appeal the verdict.
The judge has scheduled sentencing for July 11, just days before the Republican National Convention. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg declined to say what sentence he will be seeking.
