The aftermath of the conviction of Donald Trump on 34 felony counts played out amid scenes of stress, jubilation and shock in Manhattan – the slice of New York that first made the former US president into a global celebrity and has now declared one of its most famous sons a guilty criminal.
Police cruisers tore downtown after jurors announced they’d reached a verdict in Trump’s hush-money trial, and many New Yorkers had been glued to their phones waiting for the decision to be relayed. Mayor Eric Adams tried to reassure citizens that authorities were prepared for unrest.
“I guess we all get what we deserve and this man is just a lowlife,” said Joseph McGee, 62, who was standing on the corner of Sixth Avenue and Eighth Street. “Karma always get you. If it wasn’t for this, it’s for everything else he’s done. It’s a real good thing.”
Others were less sure. “This is going to hand him the election, no question,” said Ashish Bajha from Michigan.
“I work in Dayton, Ohio, and you should hear what they say out there – they think it’s a political-bias case. It’s polarizing to an already polarized base and the unfortunate part is Biden’s support is already quite low. They’re not getting Biden’s base out with this, they’re getting Trump’s,” Bajha added.
Trump was not without support. In the melting pot of New York City, though overwhelmingly Democratic, there are people of all political stripes – both visitors and residents. And all opinions could be found.
In bustling and touristy Times Square, Jai Shannon, 33, said there was the belief in her community in Florida that Trump was set up by the system. “He’s being cheated,” she said. “He’s being made an example of.”
Jerry Sharkey III, from Harlem, who had been at a probation hearing in the same criminal courthouse where Trump’s trial was winding up, was a firm fan of the real estate mogul turned reality TV star turned US president.
“I see this as a political trial, but they can spin it a lot of different ways. I’m a Trump supporter no matter what, and being in the Manhattan courthouse has nothing to do with being the president,” Sharkey said.
Many others offered a more typical New York Democratic response.
“I was cheering. I was thrilled by the verdict,” said Lisa Taylor, 49. “I just wish it would keep him from being re-elected. Surely, the Republicans are scrambling now to be, like, what do we do? But given their history, I’m not optimistic they’ll do anything.”
Opposite the Trump Tower in midtown Manhattan, where supporters and opponents alike had gathered, both cheers and boos were thrown up when a newly guilty Trump arrived back from the courthouse and pumped his fist in the air.
A man who gave his name as Sherwin said the case was about the facts and facts were what Trump had been convicted on. But he acknowledged that it was unlikely to be interpreted through anything other than a political lens.
“America is flooded with division and we can’t seem to be united on anything, and this kind of makes it more obvious. People who hate Trump are really happy, and people who love Trump are really angry,” he said.
A pair of Belgian tourists said it was the same situation in their country, with a potentially divisive election being held next month. One said: “The question we ask is: what, can’t they find anyone better? You’ve got two 80-year-olds running for office.”
Another visitor, from the Netherlands, said she considered Trump “the most improper man ever”.
“How he thinks about women, he thinks he can do anything, lie about everything and it doesn’t matter,” she said. A trio of students stopped by to offer comment. “He embezzled, he bribed, he’s mega-racist,” said Dee. “On top of that he’s just fucking weird.”
New Yorker Kimia Faribozz, 26, said she doubted Trump’s conviction would make much difference. “After the impeachments, he just kind of did his thing, so I don’t know if this is going to affect him. I feel like people older than me are more neoliberal and think this is a huge movement that he now can’t vote in Florida but can still run, but people closer to my age are a little more pessimistic.”
On the corner of 51st and Broadway, Times Square entertainer Timothy Drayton said authorities would never let a former president serve a jail sentence.
“They will not let that happen for the generations that came before or after them. America doesn’t want that. He said: ‘Make America great again’ – not the political parties. They’re not looking at the people, and the people aren’t going to go for that because it will destroy America’s whole outlook on the presidency,” Drayton said.
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