WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — Donald Trump has become the first former president to be convicted of a felony, and many are wondering what's next for him and his re-election campaign.
"This is the first time we've had a president convicted of a felony and then 34 charges on top of this, so this is a new experience for us as a country," said Associate Prof. Benjamin Toll, Political Science at Wilkes University.
As the first President ever tried and convicted of a crime by a jury of his peers, Associate Professor of Political Science at Wilkes University Benjamin Toll says the former 45th president and his team will have a lot of work to do heading towards November.
"If you are Donald Trump's team, you are not very happy about the outcome. You are looking at this from a pretty negative and pessimistic perspective, on the other hand, in the political game. You have to present this as a win; you have to make the case that he was charged unfairly. This is not something that he did, Democrats. It is something that Democrats are doing all over the place, and we are going to make this right when I win the presidency," said Toll.
With a rematch between President Joe Biden and Former President Donald Trump set for this fall, Toll believes this verdict will have little to do with a majority of voters but could be a tipping point for the small section left looking for who to pick.
"This is really going to play a really important role for maybe a small segment of the population, but with how closely divided the electorate is right now, that small segment of the population will be important," added Toll.
As for the future of his campaign trips to states like Pennsylvania, which look to play a crucial role in this upcoming presidential election, Toll says a felony could cause some hiccups for Trump's travels.
"As a convicted felon, he will have less freedom to move around, so if he is incarcerated for an amount of time, he won't be able to go and do his campaign events. If that happens, who knows what he's going to do."
While the jury has decided Trump is guilty on all counts, he still has to be sentenced. His sentencing won't take place until July 11th.
"Does he go to jail? Does he spend time behind bars? Or does that get pushed off until a later time?" Toll wondered about the future of Trump.
Following these criminal charges, Toll says there is nothing in the constitution that forbids Trump from winning the presidency in November, even if he is behind bars.