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Nothing can stop Americans’ support of President Donald Trump, and the ongoing Manhattan hush money trial is proof that no matter what is thrown at the 45th president, MAGA is firmly in his corner.
Thursday marked the second day of tense jury deliberations in the trial, in which the president is charged with an astronomical 34 counts related to the alleged falsification of business records.
After weeks of witness testimony and arduous court proceedings, jury deliberations could continue into next week, depending on how much conflict there is among jurors on reaching a potential verdict.
Despite the legal battle raging in NYC and the often murky leadership of presiding Judge Juan Merchan, Trump is more popular than ever. The legal persecution has only bolstered his image in the eyes of everyday Americans, and the latest polls prove it.
Trump has a 19-point advantage to win the presidential election in November 2024 over Joe Biden, according to the latest forecast odds from Polymarket. He has also taken a strong lead among Independent voters (54 percent to 42 percent), via new data from NPR/Marist College.
Former Trump attorney Christina Bobb told Newsmax this week that the courtroom trial wouldn’t harm his chances of reclaiming the White House. She said, “It’s not going to hurt Donald Trump. If they try to convict him and send him to prison to take him off the campaign trail, it will fuel the American public. The American public will have their own rallies. We will see a wave of MAGA across this country that we haven’t yet seen.”
One New Yorker told Fox News that upon a potential guilty verdict in the case, it wouldn’t affect his decision to vote for President Trump. “I love Trump,” he said. “I love what he did for me and my people, for Black people, he really helped us out.”
He called the multiple trials “really ridiculous” and noted that “Black people, we’re really with Trump.”
Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, also told Fox News this week that he believed Judge Merchan was a “biased judge” and pointed to evidence that “his family is getting rich off of this particular trial.”
For reference, Judge Merchan’s daughter, Loren Merchan, has allegedly fundraised for her Democrat clients via her political consulting firm, Authentic Campaigns, by utilizing messaging regarding her father’s high-profile trial with Trump.
The Trump legal team previously submitted a motion aimed at pushing for Judge Merchan’s recusal, citing 22 exhibits of Ms. Merchan’s alleged fundraising messaging in a legal filing.
Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., additionally filed an official misconduct complaint against Judge Merchan this week, pointing out that Merchan had conveniently presided over three Trump-linked trials: the 2022 Trump Organization civil trial that ended with the conviction of former CFO Allen Weisselberg, Steve Bannon’s criminal trial, and the current Manhattan “hush money” trial.
“If justices were indeed being randomly assigned in the Criminal Term, the probability of two specific criminal cases being assigned to the same justice is quite low, and the probability of three specific criminal cases being assigned to the same justice is infinitesimally small,” the congresswoman pointed out.
RNC Chairman Michael Whatley told Newsmax amidst the ongoing trial, “First, they tried to get the president off the ballot. Now they’re trying to get him off the campaign trail, and they’re trying to WEAPONIZE the judiciary to win this election—and it’s just not going to work!”
Tune in for live updates about President Trump’s NYC trial on RSBN throughout the day.