On Thursday afternoon, Collect Pond Park and the surrounding streets were teeming with New Yorkers hoping to catch a glimpse of the first president in history to be convicted of a crime.
Just after 4pm that day, Donald Trump was found guilty of all 34 charges of falsifying corporate records and the park came to life.
Like the rest of the country, I wanted to see how this will affect the November presidential election and whether this conviction will change anything. So I decided to visit the park and ask Trump supporters and opponents where we go from here.
It became clear that many people knew how they would feel about this verdict before it happened.
Trump’s guilty verdict is ‘as big a fish as you can get’
The park was full of people in the aftermath of the ruling. I stood on a park bench, closed off by a barricade, and saw signs in the sea of bodies floating near the courthouse. People who opposed Trump gathered to witness history.
A banner with orange and blue paint read: “Trump Convicted!” Another is two-sided: one side said “Trump, I don’t trust you,” the other side had a message of support for transgender people. Two of those people were Marcella Silverman, 69, and Foster Maer, 74, both civil attorneys in New York.
“I’m elated to see that this was equal justice for all, and I’m elated that a man who I have long believed to be a fraud and a trespasser has suffered the consequences in this case,” Silverman told me. She was wearing the first pink kitty hat I’d seen in years—a holdover from the early days of Trump’s presidency.
“It’s great to see when the system works,” Maer said. “Sometimes yes, and sometimes no. He’s the biggest fish you can get, and it looks like he’s been caught.”
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Nearby, members of Rise and Resist sang: “No one is above the law, Trump is not above the law.” The group, founded in 2016, spent several days outside the court during the trial.
“Most of us are older,” said member Jamie Bauer, 65, of New York City. “We know Trump from the 80s, and he has been a despicable, racist, vile character throughout. So we’re happy that it finally got to him.”
It appears that their views on his guilt were settled long before the trial. While I share the sentiments of the people I spoke with, I wasn’t sure how the verdict would go. For a case of this magnitude, I knew the jurors would be looking at the law and the evidence at a microscopic level.
I don’t necessarily know if it will change anything either. I think most people had already made up their minds about this case and the scene outside the courthouse made that clear.
MAGA is firmly behind Trump
During Trump’s first criminal trial, his fan club was in the park, just steps from the courthouse. Attendees ranged from MAGA supporters carrying banners to election Republicans voicing support for their candidate.
Trump’s supporters marched around Thursday with flags and their signature red hats. One supporter, who would only identify himself as Hungry Santa, has been there every time I’ve been in the courthouse.
“The Democrats have opened Pandora’s box,” he said. “They have learned through the Supreme Court proceedings that what is good for the goose is also good for the goose.”
When I asked if this would change his vote in November, he replied that he planned to vote for Trump twice, “but I’m not in Chicago.” That’s a joke about voter fraud.
Other characters made more of a scene. One man, seen on NBC holding a sign that read “FREE FATHER THERESA,” shouted into the crowd that he now knows what it feels like to be a New York Mets fan. Another, Shawn Olivo, identified himself to me by his rap name “DVS 7.0.” Olivo called the verdict ‘a damn shame’.
“It’s a shame, but we’ll see what happens next,” he told me. “Trump is now winning even more. A brand new little red wave has just been created.”
What if it was Biden? I don’t like the questions Trump’s guilty verdict forces conservatives to ask ourselves
Gary Phaneuf, 68, held a sign comparing Trump to famous historical figures who faced legal troubles, such as Martin Luther King, Jr.
“This is January 6 in New York City, believe it or not,” he told me. “So you’ll have to figure out which side you’re on.”
I believe these men represent the most extreme members of Trump’s party, those who would go so far as to protest and make veiled threats multiple times during the trial. They always listened to what Trump says: if he says it’s a sham, they consider it a sham. They’re the ones you always see waving Trump signs or complaining about the “Deep State.”
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While I don’t think every Republican will agree with that, I was surprised that all the Trump supporters I spoke to seemed excited to come back stronger. This statement gave them energy.
The fight against Trump is far from over
Personally, I know which side I fall on. I think the court made the right decision. I also believe that Trump will use this verdict to his advantage, once again making himself the victim of a system designed to benefit men like him. His team will appeal and the fight will continue. The verdict will also not prevent Trump from exercising his office.
It seems like everyone has made a decision. Trump supporters have been saying for weeks that this trial was a sham — it’s unlikely they would change their tune just because a verdict was reached. The same can be said of the anti-Trump crowd. They have been calling for the political end of Trump since 2016
For the rest of America, it’s time to decide. Is this enough to keep Trump out of the White House?
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Will Republicans turn on Trump after his guilty verdict? I asked them
