Trump steps onto campaign trail for first time since his conviction
CNN
During his decades in the public eye, Donald Trump has stood before crowds as a builder of skyscrapers and casinos, a best-selling author, a reality television host, a husband and father, a New Yorker and Floridian, and a current and former president of the United States.
During his decades in the public eye, Donald Trump has stood before crowds as a builder of skyscrapers and casinos, a best-selling author, a reality television host, a husband and father, a New Yorker and Floridian, and a current and former president of the United States. On Thursday, Trump will address an audience for the first time with his newest moniker: Felon. Trump will speak at a town hall Thursday in Phoenix, his first campaign appearance since a Manhattan jury last week convicted the presumptive Republican nominee on 34 counts related to a scheme to pay off a porn star ahead of the 2016 election. Trump will hold his first rally since the verdict three days later in Las Vegas, part of a western swing that will also include several fundraising stops. The flurry of events signals a new phase of the campaign for Trump with his New York case now largely behind him. No longer tethered to a Manhattan courtroom during the week, Trump is expected to ramp up his activity as he pivots from the trial to the trail. But as he steps back onto the campaign trail as a convicted felon, the urgency for Trump has crystalized. Now staring down a sentence in the hush money case, his best ticket to avoid more serious charges in the three other indictments he faces is convincing Americans to put him in office again. Trump’s allies have responded to the unprecedented moment with escalating calls for retribution – both in the immediate aftermath of his conviction and if he recaptures the White House. Trump himself has also threatened his political opponents, continuing the retaliatory rhetoric that has permeated from his campaign since the onset.
Filings from special counsel Jack Smith laying out never-before-seen evidence in the election subversion case against Donald Trump – including interview transcripts and notes from an investigation that counted among its witnesses former Vice President Mike Pence, Ivanka Trump and former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows – are now in the hands of a federal court.