I think every time that President Trump has been indicted
that his his approval ratings actually increased.
Independent presidential candidate RFK Junior commented on former President Trump's
ability to bounce back despite climbing endless political mountains.
In fact, the former president raised nearly $35 million Friday
night,
just hours after being found guilty on 34 felony counts
of falsifying business records.
Joining us once again is San Jose State political scientist
Belinda Jackson.
Good to have you back,
Professor. Good morning. Well, let's start with RF KS comments.
He believes the conviction might backfire for Democrats.
However, a poll yesterday by Morning Consult found
49% of independent voters believe it's now time for Trump
to drop out of the race and
15% of Republicans believe Trump should end his campaign as
well.
Is it Well, just get your reaction to that.
Well, I don't think it's likely that he will drop
out.
That's that's definitely not consistent with,
you know, his what he's been saying
and his past track record.
But
I think that for those independent voters and the more
moderate Republicans,
for those Nikki Haley voters,
this unanimous verdict convicted, you know,
on on all 34 counts
is going to have an impact.
You know, he's continuing to get support from
the Republican leadership, from donors,
from his core base of supporters,
but that is not enough to win in November.
So, you know, the impact that this has on those
those swing voters, those undecided voters that he really needs
to be focusing on now,
It's not looking good, at least at this point.
Well, let's talk about President Biden.
His comments were fairly tame for the most part,
reckless, dangerous, irresponsible. Does Biden need to be guarded
with his opinions on Trump's conviction moving forward And,
and if so, why?
Yeah, I think he will be cautious
about the things he says directly about Trump's conviction.
He wants to be focusing on
the issues. And again, he's also reaching out for those
undecided voters and he will be focusing on on the
character issue and drawing the contrast between himself and Trump.
But I think we're going to see more of the
hard hitting attacks coming from other Democrats,
not Biden himself. Election Day,
believe it or not, 157 days away.
There are two debates scheduled,
one in July, other in October.
Looking ahead, what do you what do you expect from
that and who has the most to gain or lose
from those debates?
Well, we we know what happened
the last time Trump and Biden debated.
And so this is an opportunity,
I think, for Trump to
take a different approach. But whether he does so remains
to be seen.
I think Biden again, has the opportunity to draw that
contrast between himself and Trump.
And again, Trump's supporters may like his style and his
bombast,
but
the broader American electorate may be tired of hearing about,
you know, his his perceived grievances.
And unless he starts talking about some other issues
between now and November, I think he's going to have
a hard time winning
a majority of the vote in those battleground states.
And by the way, that first debate is in June,
late June, not July. Trump was sentenced on July 11th.
The judge could put him in jail,
home confinement, probation, maybe a big fine,
but whatever he does could have a profound effect on
the presidential race.
That's kind of a heavy burden to carry for that
judge.
Just get your reaction to that.
He's got a lot to think about over the next
five or six weeks,
doesn't he?
He certainly does. And while,
you know, Trump has the same rights as any other
defendant or, you know, person accused of crimes,
I think the judge is looking at this case a
little differently because,
you know, this is this is one of our
the, the candidate for one of our two parties.
He's running for president. We've never had a situation like
this before.
And I think the judge will be taking that into
account
in terms of, you know,
the impact that that being in jail,
for example, would have on Trump's ability to campaign.
At the same time, you know,
he he's sworn to uphold the law and,
you know, so there's a lot of speculation now about
how this
sentence will come down given the fact that,
you know, Trump is the first time offender his age.
You know, all of these things will be taken into
account,
but also his behavior be between now and then.
Yeah, that will be a key factor in that,
I think. Curious, as a convicted felon,
can Trump vote for himself on Election Day?
Right. Well, he is a Florida resident.
And so Florida is notorious for having,
you know, restrictions on voting rights for convicted felons.
However, because this conviction was in New York State,
it would actually defer to the rules in New York.
So as long as he's not in jail on Election
Day,
he should be able to vote.
And we know that Governor DeSantis has already said that,
you know, there could be
an exception made or or,
you know, a clemency for Trump.
So it's very likely he will be allowed to vote
as a poli sci professor.
I can only imagine what you guys discuss
week after week in school.
It's in college. It's it's been
quite the dramatic couple of years,
that's for sure. Melinda Jackson,
professor at San Jose State,
you two times you came in at at 8:00 and
9:00.
And we want to thank you so much for your
time.
All right, you're welcome. Take care.