“Guilty on all counts,” is the headline on the Guardian’s front page on Friday, after Donald Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records in a historic criminal hush-money trial.
It took the jury less than 12 hours to reach a verdict in the unprecedented first criminal trial against a current or former US president.
On the big question of whether the verdict will affect the outcome of November’s presidential election – in which poll after poll shows Trump to be the marginal favourite over incumbent Joe Biden – the paper’s Washington bureau chief David Smith is clear: “If this doesn’t do it, perhaps nothing will.”
The headline is no less historic in the New York Times, the paper of record in a city that for years was intertwined with the image of the former president, and is now the site of his conviction.
In an opinion piece, published after the verdict, the paper’s editorial board offered the blunt assessment that “The jury’s decision, and the facts presented at the trial, offer yet another reminder — perhaps the starkest to date — of the many reasons Donald Trump is unfit for office.
“The greatest good to come out of this sordid case is the proof that the rule of law binds everyone, even former presidents.”
The front page of The New York Times for Friday, May 31, 2024. https://t.co/DzpU7iBUMe pic.twitter.com/jqluYRWEIs
— The New York Times (@nytimes) May 31, 2024
Germany’s Der Spiegel has a characteristically creative headline with the world “Guilty!” repeated 34 times; one for every count on which the former president was convicted.
Weekly magazine the New Yorker worked at record speed to turn around this cover for its next edition.
David Remnick, the magazine’s editor, says that the conviction is “only the most recent stain on the legal history of the former president”, but goes on to note that despite his guilt in this case, the final judgment will be made by voters in November.
Next week's @newyorker cover. https://t.co/t0PCZyr8BO pic.twitter.com/FfEnoKdaGw
— Michael Luo (@michaelluo) May 30, 2024
Under its headline, the Washington Post carries comment from senior critic-at-large, Robin Givhan, who says “bless the Trump jury, not for the verdict but for their service”.
“At a time when Americans can barely agree on whether the sky is blue or the grass is green, five women and seven men, all strangers until two months ago, agreed that former president Donald Trump was guilty”, she writes.
The front page of The Washington Post for May 31, 2024. pic.twitter.com/DMxLgfJpX4
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) May 31, 2024
The Times in the UK says “Trump found guilty in hush money trial”. The paper notes that the trial has fallen in the midst of a campaign that could return him to the White House “months after a judge has decided whether or not to send him to jail”.
“Opinion polls have suggested that a criminal conviction could put off some voters”, the paper’s correspondent Will Pavia notes from New York, before adding that many political strategists “doubt whether it will have an effect in November”.
THE TIMES: Trump found guilty in hush money trial #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/Yo34KTxnW9
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) May 30, 2024
The Telegraph notes that Trump – along with Joe Biden - launched a fundraising push after the verdict, with the former president’s request for donations reading: “I am a political prisoner!”
But while analysis from the paper’s deputy US editor notes that the conviction is the biggest moment in any presidential race “in living memory”, it goes on to say that if Biden’s campaign “believes this will secure their victory, they may be left disappointed.”
TELEGRAPH: Trump Guilty #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/O00rB7gxU1
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) May 30, 2024
Under an image of Trump with Stormy Daniels, the adult film star who gave evidence during the trial, the Mirror’s headline reads simply “Trump guilty”.
A separate article – under the headline “He’s Don for” – describes the president’s “rage” after he was convicted.
MIRROR: Trump guilty #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/RlSq7LHTAr
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) May 30, 2024
The New York Post, the tabloid that has historically been a supporter of Trump but which in recent years has developed a more complicated relationship with him, leads with a picture of him looking sullen after the verdict on Thursday.
The paper’s editorial board is scathing of the verdict, however, publishing an opinion piece under the headline “Trump falls victim to a prostituted court of law — more reason for the court of public opinion to vote out Biden in November”.
Finally, the Daily Star had its own unique take, referencing an iconic UK ad from the 1990s, under the headline “You’ve been Tango’d”.
STAR: You’ve been Tango’d #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/bkUajVxlsK
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) May 30, 2024
