Donald Trump said his historic trial and criminal conviction have been “very difficult” for his wife, former First Lady Melania Trump.
Last week, a jury found Trump guilty of falsifying business records to conceal hush money payments to former porn star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential election campaign.
With this verdict, he became the first US president to be convicted of a criminal offense. He has repeatedly called the trial fraudulent and politically motivated.
In an interview with Fox News over the weekend, Mr. Trump vowed that success in the upcoming US election in November would be his “revenge”.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 11 and plans to appeal the sentences.
Speaking to Fox on Sunday, Mr. Trump said his New York legal battle was especially difficult for his wife.
The trial includes gruesome details of the alleged meeting between Mr. Trump and Ms. Daniels.
The details include Mr. Trump greeting her in silk pajamas at his hotel room and Ms. Daniels claiming that he was not wearing protective gear when they allegedly had sex.
In her testimony, Ms. Daniels also claimed that Mr. Trump and his wife slept in different beds.
“She’s fine, but I think it’s very difficult for her,” Mr. Trump said of his wife, adding that “in many ways, it’s more difficult for them.” [his family] than me”.
Under New York law, each of the 34 felony counts for which Mr. Trump was convicted could result in a prison sentence of up to four years — although this is not considered a likely outcome.
In the Fox interview, Mr. Trump acknowledged the possibility of imprisonment, saying he was “fine with that” but that he was “not sure the public would support it.”
“I think it will be difficult for the public to accept,” he said. “You know, at a certain point there’s going to be a breaking point.”
In another interview published over the weekend, the woman at the center of the New York case – former adult film actress Stormy Daniels – said she was “shocked” by the jury’s decision. How fast is the verdict?
In her first public speech since her conviction, Ms. Daniels told British newspaper The Mirror that she believes Mr. Trump “should be sentenced to prison and do some community service for the people who unlucky”.
“Or become a volunteer sandbag at a women’s shelter,” she added.
Even after her conviction, Ms. Daniels said the case was “not over” for her.
“It will never end for me,” she said. “Trump may be guilty, but I still have to live with the legacy.”
Mr. Trump is still facing dozens of other charges in three other criminal cases, including one in Georgia, in which he is accused of plotting to overturn his narrow loss to President Joe Biden in the state. in the 2020 election. That case is now tied up on appeal.
In Florida — where he faces a federal lawsuit over alleged mishandling of classified documents — a judge postponed the trial indefinitely, saying setting a date before resolving questions about the evidence is “imprudent”.
