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Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a potential 2024 presidential candidate, issued a stern warning against convicting Trump, arguing that many voters see the trial's outcome as a weaponization of the American justice system and that the verdict would “backfire” on Democrats.
Speaking on “Jesse Watters Primetime,” Kennedy responded to the news that former President Trump had been convicted on all 34 felony counts, explaining how the conviction is harmful to the country's democratic process.
LIVE UPDATES: Trump conviction sparks reactions from all quarters
“This conviction will backfire for Democrats,” Kennedy told Watters on Thursday. “I think every time President Trump is indicted, his approval ratings actually go up, his popularity actually goes up. I think a lot of Americans are going to see this as a politicization, a weaponization of the executive branch, and I think that will be a hurtful thing. That's bad for our democracy.”
“The DNC believes their candidate can't win fair and square at the polls, so they have to win in court,” he continued. “They have to win by removing other candidates from the race and by putting themselves at a disadvantage. I'm no fan of President Trump, but I want to win. I want to run a level playing field and beat him.”
Trump was found guilty of all charges in an historic and unprecedented criminal trial, becoming the first former U.S. president to be convicted on Thursday. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged Trump with 34 counts of first-degree falsifying business records.
Donald Trump arrives at Trump Tower on Thursday, May 30, 2024, after being convicted on 34 counts of first-degree falsifying business records. (Felipe Ramares, Fox News Digital)
A jury found him guilty on all charges. The former president has pleaded not guilty.
Each charge carries a maximum sentence of four years in prison, meaning that together, Trump faces a maximum of 136 years in prison.
Trump is scheduled to be sentenced on July 11, just four days before the Republican National Convention in November, where he is expected to be nominated for the Republican Party's 2024 nomination.
The landmark conviction has drawn the ire of critics who argue the case represents a political weaponization of the American justice system and could ultimately affect the former president's chances of reelection in November.
After the conviction, Trump promises “it's not over” and vows to “fight to the end”
Kennedy noted that his father, Robert F. Kennedy Sr., served as attorney general in 1961 and opposed politicizing the judiciary, fearing it would turn the nation into a “banana republic.”
“He said, 'The first rule is, whenever politics aren't involved, don't prosecute because of politics. Never ask if someone is a Democrat or a Republican.' He said that because he understood how important it is for our country, for the American people, to have faith that the judicial system is neutral and that we all need to respect, and that if we start to believe that the judicial system is politicized, that's a terrible thing for our country,” he said.
“And that's one of the reasons why prosecutors, even when there were cases against President Nixon and many other former presidents, have typically shied away from bringing cases because they run the risk of looking like a Third World country, a banana republic, where no one is actually running the election,” he continued. “If you have an opponent, you're going to eliminate that person in some way.”
Kennedy argued that the media had been complicit in the efforts of far-left forces to eliminate political opponents in unconventional ways, and warned of a general lack of “integrity” in journalism today.
“There's tribalism in the media, and I think a lot of people have forgotten what journalism is,” Kennedy said. “A lot of people have forgotten what integrity is, and you see this all over the place, but I would say to the Democrats, even if you win this way, what effect does that have on our country if half the country feels angry and upset and feels like the candidate they were championing and the candidate they wanted to vote for has been removed?”
“When I was growing up, the Democratic Party was the party that wanted everyone to vote and made sure no one was disenfranchised. The modern Democratic Party is just trying to disenfranchise as many voters as possible.”
Fox News' Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
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