Politics
As a Felon, Trump Upends How Americans View the Presidency
A big economic package, mass deportations, maybe even some invasions of other countries. Oh, and one more item. “I’ll do my little thing tomorrow,” a busy President-elect Donald J. Trump mentioned the other night.
That little thing was the first criminal sentencing of an American president. That little thing was confirmation that Mr. Trump, just 10 days later, would become the first president to move into the White House with a rap sheet. That little thing is the latest shift in standards that once governed high office.
Mr. Trump does not really consider it a little thing, of course, given how strenuously he sought to avoid Friday’s sentencing for 34 felony counts in his hush money case. But to a remarkable degree, he has succeeded in making it a little thing in the body politic. What was once a pretty-much-guaranteed disqualifier for the presidency is now just one more political event seen through a partisan lens.
After all, no one seemed shocked after Friday’s sentencing in New York. While Mr. Trump was spared jail time or financial penalties, he effectively had the word “felon” tattooed on his record for all time unless a higher court overturns the conviction. But that development was already baked into the system. Voters knew last fall that Mr. Trump had been found guilty by a jury of his peers, and enough of them decided it was either illegitimate or not as important as other issues.
“It speaks to the moment we’re in,” said Norman L. Eisen, a former White House ethics counsel to President Barack Obama who has closely tracked Mr. Trump’s various legal cases and has founded a new organization aimed at defending democracy. “You have somebody who is an adjudicated felon 34 times over, but you also have a nation that is either so numb or so in shock that it does not know how to react.”
And so the nation will soon witness the paradox of a newly elected president putting his hand on a Bible to swear an oath to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States,” the supreme law of the land, barely a week after being sentenced for violating the law.
This will be a national Rorschach test. His critics will find it appalling. His admirers will see it as vindication.
That is no accident. Mr. Trump for years has worked to discredit any and all criminal and civil cases against him as nothing more than politically motivated witch hunts and found plenty of Americans to agree with him. His supporters do not view him as a villain but as a victim. Even a significant number of opponents have grown weary of it all, or their outrage has faded into resignation.
“What is extraordinary about Trump’s behavior and record is that the electorate does not care, as it once did, that a president pay public fealty to law and norms and other traditional expectations of the office,” said Jack Goldsmith, a Harvard Law School professor and former assistant attorney general under President George W. Bush. “Trump has revolutionized how the public thinks about the presidency even before his second term has begun.”
Indeed, he has not only moved the bar for the presidency, but is attempting to do the same for senior cabinet positions and other top officials in government. He picked Pete Hegseth, a Fox News personality, to be secretary of defense despite the allegation that he raped a woman at a Republican political conference and a report that he was pushed out as head of two veterans organizations after being accused of mismanagement, drunken behavior and sexual impropriety.
Mr. Hegseth, who has since left Fox, has insisted the encounter at the conference was consensual, and police did not file charges. But Mr. Trump has selected other candidates for top positions who have been accused of sexual misconduct themselves or failure to stop it. Most of them, like Mr. Hegseth, dispute the allegations and Mr. Trump and his allies seem willing to accept their denials. But there was a time when an incoming president would have avoided nominees with such baggage in the first place.
Mr. Trump’s allies maintain that if standards have shifted, the president-elect’s pursuers have only themselves to blame by initiating unfounded or overhyped investigations as part of what they said looked like an effort to stop a political opponent. Mr. Trump’s adversaries cannot win at the ballot box, his camp charges, so they have abused the justice system.
“Our norms have changed in what we will accept in presidents because federal and state Democratic officials debased prosecution by deploying it as a political tool to influence presidential elections,” said John Yoo, another former Bush Justice Department official now teaching at the University of California, Berkeley.
A YouGov survey released on Friday found that 48 percent of adults said they believed that Mr. Trump had committed crimes in the hush money case, while 28 percent did not and 25 percent were not sure. Following the sentencing, 19 percent said it was too harsh, 24 percent said it was about right and 39 percent did not think it was harsh enough.
On the broader question of whether Mr. Trump was politically singled out for the worst treatment, most Americans disagreed. Forty-two percent said they thought Mr. Trump was actually treated more leniently than other people and 14 percent said he was treated about the same, while 30 percent said he was treated more harshly. That 30 percent clearly reflects Mr. Trump’s hard-core base, and enough other voters evidently concluded that they were not bothered enough to vote against him and cared more about inflation, immigration or other issues.
The hush money case was not the only legal issue confronting Mr. Trump, though. He was indicted three other times, twice for trying to overturn the 2020 election and hold onto power illegitimately and a third time for taking classified documents that were not his when he left the White House and refusing to give them back even after being subpoenaed. None of those cases made it to trial before the election, but voters were extensively told about the evidence.
Moreover, Mr. Trump lost several other cases that in the past would have been hard for a would-be president to overcome. He was found liable for sexual abuse in one civil case and business fraud in another. And his Trump Organization was convicted in criminal court of 17 counts of tax fraud and other crimes. He will be the first president with judgments of this scale against him to take the oath of office as well.
“Essential to the efforts of the founders was their ultimate respect for the citizens who they believed would be informed and for the most part moral and sensible,” said Ty Cobb, a former White House lawyer for Mr. Trump who has become a critic. “Sadly, we blew past all that somehow.”
Still, the only criminal conviction of Mr. Trump personally was the hush money case, in which he was found guilty of falsifying business records to hide $130,000 paid to a woman who said she had a sexual tryst with him while his wife Melania was pregnant with their son. He denied the affair, but made the payments through a fixer anyway.
Mr. Yoo said that the nature of the hush money case worked against Mr. Trump’s adversaries because it seemed less momentous than the other three criminal indictments.
“If the Democratic lawfare campaign had actually convicted Trump of a crime related to Jan. 6, we might think of Trump differently,” Mr. Yoo said. “But pursuing him for bookkeeping shenanigans to conceal hush money payments showed that Trump’s opponents would stoop to the most inconsequential legal charges to try to stop him.”
Even some who have been critical of Mr. Trump questioned whether the hush money prosecution was worth it, especially since it was brought by a Democratic district attorney who reopened the matter after his predecessor opted against filing charges.
“Of all the cases against Mr. Trump, the New York case was the most partisan and least meritorious,” said Michael W. McConnell, a Stanford Law School professor and former federal appeals court judge appointed by Mr. Bush. “The conviction says more about the low standards of prosecutorial integrity in the once-vaunted Manhattan D.A. office than about Mr. Trump.”
Even the judge’s sentence seemed to undermine perceptions of the case’s seriousness. Rather than try to impose jail time or financial penalties, the judge gave Mr. Trump what is called unconditional discharge, a concession to the reality that an actual penalty was implausible 10 days before the inauguration.
At the end of the day, beyond the minimum qualifications in the Constitution, the standards for who is fit to be president are determined not by politicians or a judge or jury but by the voters. In this case, the voters gave their verdict long before the official sentencing.
And that is no little thing.
As anyone who has ever seen his buildings knows, Donald Trump has always liked to see his name displayed prominently. It’s become a hallmark of his presidency, to the point that the Treasury Department announced on Thursday that President Trump’s signature will appear on U.S. dollars later this year, a first for a sitting U.S. president.
The move is the latest reflecting a push to imprint his personal brand on Washington and the nation in ways that could outlast his presidency.
In total, since the start of Mr. Trump’s second term, there have been more than a dozen instances of his name, image or signature emblazoned on a variety of American initiatives and institutions. Some changes seem as if they could be lasting, some are caught up in the courts, and others may never get off the ground.
Here is a look at that ever-growing list.
Already approved uses
Joseph Eid/AFP via Getty Images, Stephen Crowley/The New York Times
U.S. Treasury
Eric Lee/The New York Times
Eric Lee/The New York Times
Trump Card
TrumpRX
Dr. Mehmet Oz, who runs Medicare and Medicaid, has said that Mr. Trump was not involved in picking the name. “We thought it had a catchy element to it,” he said.
Trump Accounts
Department of Interior, via Center for Biological Diversity
U.S. Navy
U.S. Air Force
Proposed uses
Johnny Milano/The New York Times
Todd Heisler/The New York Times
Shawn Thew/EPA, via Shutterstock
Washington Commanders
Ruth Fremson/The New York Times
Joseph Eid/AFP via Getty Images
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
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A bipartisan group of lawmakers found Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., guilty of more than two dozen ethics violations, but House Democratic leadership is standing by their embattled colleague.
“As I understand it, the Ethics Committee has one final step in their process, so I’m not going to get out ahead of the Ethics Committee process that will be completed upon our return,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said Friday morning. “And then I’ll have more to say.”
House Democratic Conference Chairman Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., also told Punchbowl News on Friday that he had not seen the ethics panel’s findings, but added “that doesn’t sound good” when told the body determined that she committed 25 ethics violations. Those charges include money laundering, making false statements on campaign finance reports and seeking special favors from entities receiving federal funding.
INDICTED DEMOCRAT REP. SHEILA CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK ONE STEP CLOSER TO EXPULSION
An eight-member House Ethics investigative subcommittee determined Friday that Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., committed 25 House ethics violations, which could lead to her potential expulsion from the House of Representatives. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
The Florida Democrat is facing a separate federal criminal indictment that could result in more than five decades in prison if convicted. Cherfilus-McCormick, who has pleaded not guilty, is accused of illegally transferring millions in disaster relief funds improperly paid to her family’s healthcare company to finance her run for Congress and the purchase of luxury items, including a massive diamond ring.
The House Ethics Committee said it would announce its recommended punishment for Cherfilus-McCormick in April, which could be as severe as expulsion. Under House rules, a two-thirds majority would have to support the resolution to formally remove the Florida Democrat from the chamber.
Jeffries’ refusal so far to condemn Cherfilus-McCormick’s conduct mirrors the relative silence of the Democratic caucus, though some rank-and-file members are beginning to break their silence on the Florida Democrat.
Moderate Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., was the first Democratic lawmaker to publicly issue a statement Friday calling on Cherfilus-McCormick to resign or be removed following the guilty verdict.
“You can’t crime your way into legitimate power,” Gluesenkamp Perez wrote. “Since she was found guilty, she should resign or be removed.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. has so far refused to condemn Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McComrick, an indicted lawmaker facing a looming expulsion threat. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images; Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
HOUSE DEMOCRAT ACCUSES FELLOW DEM OF VIOLATING A ‘FREE AND FAIR ELECTION’ IN STUNNING PUBLIC MOVE
A handful of other congressional Democrats said Friday that they would consider backing an expulsion resolution if the indicted lawmaker did not leave on her own terms.
A Jeffries spokeperson did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Despite the looming expulsion threat, Cherfilus-McCormick has given no indication that she will resign. She is also running for a fourth term in November’s midterm elections.
“I look forward to proving my innocence,” Cherfilus-McCormick said in a statement Friday. “Until then, my focus remains where it belongs: showing up for the great people of Florida’s 20th District who sent me to Washington to fight for them.”
Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., was the first congressional Democrat to call for Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick to resign or be removed following the conclusion of a rare House ethics hearing. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
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The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), House Republicans’ campaign arm, ripped congressional Democrats’ lack of outrage over Cherfilus-McCormick’s conduct.
“The Ethics Committee just confirmed that Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick broke the rules, and House Democrats are still saying nothing,” NRCC spokesman Mike Marinella said Friday. “Their silence is a choice. Democrats can stand for accountability or keep protecting a proven ethics violator, but voters won’t forget it.”
A rolling wave of “No Kings” protests swelled through America’s small towns and big cities Saturday, with crowds gathering to blast President Trump, Immigration and Customs Enforcement crackdowns, the war in Iran and high gas and food prices.
Saturday’s demonstrations were expected to draw millions of people nationwide, including thousands for a downtown Los Angeles rally. More than 40 protests were planned for L.A., Orange and Ventura counties, part of the national “No Kings Day of Nonviolent Action.”
No Kings Coalition organizers were hoping that turnout for the rallies in all 50 states could combine to form the largest single-day protest in U.S. history. They pointed to growing anger over the country’s direction, including fatal ICE shootings and troops dispatched to the Middle East, since the first “No Kings” demonstration was held last June.
On Saturday morning, hundreds gathered around the reflecting pool at Pasadena City College. A band rolled through with a fascism-themed parody of Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues.” Sign-toting protesters lined Colorado Boulevard, drawing a constant stream of honking from the cars driving by. For many, the Iran war was top of mind.
“Every time we protest, there’s something completely new, which speaks to the chaos of the Trump administration,” Cindy Campbell told The Times. “ICE raids last year, Epstein files a few months ago. Now, war.”
“This administration doesn’t serve us. It serves billionaires,” said Kent Miller, of Monrovia, who participated in the Pasadena protest. “War with Iran is only making life harder for working people.”
Miller pointed to a Chevron gas station advertising gas for $6.45 per gallon.
“See?” he said.
National coordinators said there has been increased interest in smaller communities, including Republican bastions, with higher-than-expected attendance during Saturday’s protests.
“I’m out here because I’m disgusted with what I’m seeing,” said Kersty Kinsey, a mother who was protesting near the Beaufort, S.C., City Hall. “People are suffering, and he’s playing golf. People are suffering, and he’s going other places and blowing things up.”
In Beaufort, an antebellum city founded in 1711, an estimated 3,000 people turned out — a marked increase over earlier “No Kings” rallies, said Barb Nash, one of the coordinators. Amid the moss-draped live oaks and blooming pink and white azaleas, a person in a purple Barney dinosaur costume held a sign reading: “Dino’s for Democracy.” A young girl handed out homemade “Resistance Cookies.”
Los Angeles coordinators said they expect more than 100,000 people at the local events, which were being planned for Beverly Hills, Burbank, West Covina, West Hollywood and Thousand Oaks. One group planned a “Road Outrage” car caravan to motor through Mid City with flapping flags calling for “No War,” and “ICE Out of LA.” At a Torrance gathering, cars honked, protesters waved flags, and a person in an inflatable green cow costume hoisted a large American flag.
The White House, in a Saturday statement, dismissed the protests as a “Trump Derangement Therapy Session.”
Organizers said they have been particularly encouraged by the surge of interest from groups in rural communities that wanted to join the loose-knit No Kings Coalition and hold protests.
Jaynie Parrish, founder of the Arizona Native Vote project, started planning a protest for her tiny town of Kayenta, on the Navajo Nation in northern Arizona, only earlier this week.
“My dad, who’s a [military] veteran and an elder, said: ‘We should go,’ and I said, ‘OK,’” Parrish told The Times.
“Our folks don’t always protest for things, but this was very important,” Parrish said. “A lot of our families are feeling the impacts right now of higher prices and things being cut. A lot of our healthcare benefits are being cut … and our tribal sovereignty is being threatened.”
Upbeat Midwestern activists withstood whipping winds to form a line of protesters stretching nearly three blocks of Burlington Avenue in Hastings, Neb. Under the crisp blue skies, one of the protesters, Drew Fausett, told The Times in a phone interview that he is a registered Republican in the decidedly red state.
“My politics haven’t really changed — but the party around me has,” Fausett said. “It used to be the two parties were two sides of the same coin, and they would work together — but not anymore.”
He and his wife, Becky, have attended “No Kings” and other protests because “it’s the only way to show that people have different opinions,” he said. “People are out here speaking for their families and their neighbors. That’s what this is all about.”
Trump’s policies are hurting many in Nebraska — including farmers, said Debby Thompson, one of the Hastings organizers.
“We want to urge our representatives in Congress to not just rubber stamp whatever Trump wants because it’s really hurting rural folks and farmers,” Thompson said. “The tariffs and huge increase in prices on fertilizer are hitting farmers really hard.”
The “No Kings” campaign sprouted in June as an act of defiance on Trump’s 79th birthday. He wanted a military parade in Washington to mark his milestone, and anti-Trump protesters came out in force — an estimated 5 million people around the country — with their own display. At the time, Trump’s second-term policies were coming into focus, including ramping up immigration raids, deploying the National Guard to L.A. in response to protests, and mass firings within the federal government.
A subsequent event in mid-October drew even larger crowds, with an estimated 7 million people protesting around the country.
Saturday’s event coincided with a dip in Trump’s approval ratings. A Reuters/Ipsos poll last week found 36% approve of Trump’s job performance, marking the lowest level since his return to office last year. In a separate Fox News Poll released last week, 59% disapproved of his job performance.
“Since the last ‘No Kings,’ we’re seeing higher gas prices and groceries, all while there’s an illegal war in Iran,” national organizer Sarah Parker of the organization 50501 said during a Thursday press briefing. “We’ve also seen our neighbors executed — American citizens executed.”
Widespread protests and candlelight vigils followed January’s fatal shootings by ICE agents in Minneapolis of Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, and Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care unit nurse.
“The defining story of this Saturday’s mobilization is not just how many people are protesting — but where they are protesting,” Leah Greenberg, co-founder of Indivisible, said during the press briefing. She said two-thirds of the RSVPs to national organizers came from outside of major urban centers.
The Los Angeles event was organized by the local chapter of 50501 (short for “50 protests, 50 states, 1 movement”) and other progressive groups, including the ACLU, Human Rights Campaign, Indivisible and Public Citizen, as well as labor unions such as Unite Here Local 11 and the Service Workers International Union.
“There’s an affordability crisis in this country — people can’t afford groceries or healthcare,” Joseph Bryant, SEIU executive vice president, said in a statement. “But this administration is focused on expanding its power, starting unnecessary wars that benefit billionaires, and targeting immigrants and citizens who dare to stand up for them.”
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