WAAY 31 spoke with the chairman of the Alabama Republican Party, John Wahl, and former Democratic Congressman, Dr. Parker Griffith, for District 5, in reaction to the guilty verdicts against former President Donald Trump.
Both are in agreement; the 34-count guilty verdict against a former president is something we have never seen happen in our country before. Wahl says this was politically motivated, and Griffith says this was the American court system working how it's supposed to.
Wahl said, “I’m actually not surprised. The DA and the judge both literally campaigned on going after Donald Trump. It was a clear political motivation. They were clearly biased against Donald Trump. And so this was exactly what I expected. I’m hoping that Donald Trump's team is planning to appeal this.â€
Griffith said, “I don't think people are surprised because former President Trump admitted that he was doing wrong, that he didn't have any respect for the law, and he acted that way all during the trial and the footsteps of the courthouse.â€
Both Wahl and Griffith shared their thoughts on whether this guilty verdict on Thursday will impact the minds of voters.
Griffith said, “I think it's going to harm him because I think there are a lot of independent voters out there who are not necessarily dedicated to one party or another that are going to say we cannot present a man to the world who is a convicted felon.â€
Wahl said, “I definitely think this is going to impact voters, and it's hard to tell right now if this will impact him positively or negatively towards voters. We’ve seen over the last few months and over the last few years that voters don’t seem to be affected by these trials. In fact, polling suggests that the majority of Americans actually think this is politically motivated. They share my view.â€
Most voters say they would still vote for former President Trump regardless of the verdict in this hush money trial. According to the results of a new Marist poll, 67 percent of registered voters say a guilty verdict would not change how they vote, and 76 percent say the same about a not guilty verdict. Just seven percent of voters say a guilty verdict would make them less likely to vote for Trump in the presidential race.
