On April 15, 2024, Donald Trump became the first American president in the history of the nation to stand criminal trial.
He’s expected to attend court during the entire duration of his current trial, which pertains to hush money payments made to Stormy Daniels back during his first run for president. While Trump maintains his innocence — and will likely never admit to any wrongdoing, ever, in his entire life — prosecutors believe the former president falsified business records to cover up a more than $100,000 payment.
After dodging numerous charges, pointing fingers at everyone but himself, and proclaiming the trial to be a “witch hunt” and “political persecution,” Trump is finally being held accountable. He’ll likely be on trial into May, and — if he’s found guilty — will officially be known as a felon. That status will restrict some of his rights as an American citizen, but not the one that matters most to the disgraced politician.
Can Trump still be president if he’s convicted?
There are a lot of questions surrounding what happens if Trump is convicted — will we have another insurrection on our hands, for example? — but the one at the forefront of American minds is his eligibility for office. There are several things that people convicted of felony crimes lose access to following their conviction, but none of them directly pertain to the office of the presidency.
This is almost certainly an oversight on the part of our nation’s leaders, most of whom likely never thought a felon would have a snowball’s chance in hell of obtaining the office, but Trump will absolutely change that if convicted. His sycophantic base will continue to support him no matter how many felonies he racks up, and that gives him a real chance of winning. And, despite it all, a felony conviction does not disqualify someone from running for president.
Hilariously (in an eye-meltingly horrific way) it would disqualify him for voting for himself — at least in certain states. Trump typically casts his vote in Florida, where Mar-a-Lago is located, but the frequented state is among several that restrict the voting rights of convicted felons. In this nation, which proclaims itself the greatest in the world, a person with a felony conviction is not trusted enough to cast a vote for the highest office in the land, but they can occupy that office. We will not give a voice to those who have committed crimes we find too harsh, but we will give them the keys to the kingdom — and the power to match.
It’s mind-numbingly contradictory, which also makes it perfectly on point in this worst-imaginable timeline. It’s insane to think that we will take away one right — supposedly on the grounds that whatever led to conviction was harsh enough to warrant it — but not their ability to dictate that right, and a million others, from the seat of our Commander in Chief. You’d think something that disqualifies someone from voting would be enough to likewise disqualify them from being voted for, but here we are.
So yes, even if convicted, Trump could still become president. His path will be harder, as his opponents are graced with yet more ammunition against him, but if 2016 taught us anything, it’s to never underestimate Donald Trump.