The Democratic Party and their close friends and allies in the activist media have discovered a new favorite phrase: "convicted felon." Don’t worry; it hasn't yet dethroned the term “racist” as their most favored label, but it is increasingly becoming part of their lexicon since a Manhattan court convicted former President Donald Trump for supposedly falsifying business records.
President Joe Biden and his campaign team have been bandying about the label against Trump, hoping that it will persuade voters not to support him at the ballot box in November.
During a campaign fundraising event, President Biden railed against his opponent, saying, “For the first time in American history, a former president that is a convicted felon is now seeking the office of the presidency.”
“But as disturbing as that is, more damaging is the all-out assault Donald Trump is making on the American system of justice,” he added.
Shortly after the verdict, the Biden-Harris HQ X account wrote a post listing "34 Lowlights from Convicted Felon Donald Trump’s ‘Press Conference.’”
34 Lowlights from Convicted Felon Donald Trump’s "Press Conference" pic.twitter.com/STHrmoT4Dj
— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) June 1, 2024
It appears the “convicted felon” line has already become an integral component of Democrats’ messaging strategy. Indeed, since the former president was indicted in four separate criminal cases, they were likely salivating as they awaited this moment.
However, they might be disappointed in the results.
Polls conducted after the jury handed down the verdict show that the Manhattan case has not had much of an impact on public opinion on Trump. A CBS News/YouGov poll showed that 57 percent of adults believe the jury reached the correct verdict. A Morning Consult poll showed 54 percent approving of the verdict.
These findings might sound dire for the former president until one looks at polls showing his level of support among Republican voters. Reuters/Ipsos released the results of a poll on Saturday showing that only one in 10 GOP voters indicated they are less likely to support Trump in November. However, 55 percent said the verdict did not make a difference in regards to their planned vote, while 34 percent indicated it made them more likely to vote for the former president.
Even further, other polls have shown that Biden and Trump are still in a statistical dead heat, with Biden enjoying a slight edge over his opponent. However, his lead is still within the margin of error.
Given these results, it stands to reason that Trump is very much still competitive. However, there is a caveat. The former president is still facing three other indictments. Two of these are at the federal level, and the other comes from Fulton County, Georgia. While these cases, just as the Manhattan farce, are clearly motivated by political concerns, there is still a chance that they could tip the scales in Biden’s favor if Democrats manage to score more convictions against Trump. It will likely depend on the nature of the offenses for which he is convicted.
Still, this could also backfire on the Democrats. The more they appear to be weaponizing the justice system against a political opponent, the more likely it will be that they will turn off a key segment of voters. At this point, it could be too early to tell. But one thing is clear: The conviction did not do nearly as much damage to Trump’s candidacy as Democrats would have hoped.
