Former President Donald Trump said Sunday that being sentenced to house arrest or prison would be a “breaking point” for the nation after he was found guilty of all charges in last week’s hush money trial.
In a clip from the 90-minute interview that aired Sunday on “Fox & Friends Weekend,” Trump was asked about the possibility that Judge Juan Marchand, who is presiding over the case, might impose a house arrest or prison sentence. Trump is scheduled to be sentenced on all 34 felony charges in New York on July 11, just days before the Republican National Convention.
“That’s OK,” Trump, the leading contender for the Republican presidential nomination, acknowledged it “could happen” but warned it could be “tough” for Americans.
“I don’t know if the American people can stand it. I don’t know if the American people can stand it,” Trump said. “It’s going to be hard for the American people to accept. At some point there’s going to be a breaking point.”
Following Trump’s conviction in the hush money trial, NBC News reported that Trump supporters made violent threats targeting Marchan and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg in a series of posts on the same website Trump supporters used to coordinate ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Message boards known to be used by Trump supporters also attempted to publish the addresses of jurors in the case.
The former president’s comments came just days after a Manhattan jury found him guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records.
The charges Trump was convicted of are classified as Class E felonies, which means each count carries a fine, suspended sentence or up to four years in prison, but some experts told NBC News they believe Trump’s age, lack of a criminal record and other reasons make it unlikely he will face any prison time.
Since the trial ended, Trump has continued to claim that it was “rigged.” Speaking to reporters and supporters at Trump Tower on Friday, the former president said, “This is a fraud. This is a rigged trial. This trial should never have been held in that place. That judge should never have been chosen.”
He added: “All of this [President Joe] “Biden and his aides. This is from Washington. Nobody has ever seen anything like this.”
Speaking at the Trump Tower event, he promised to also appeal the jury verdict, saying, “We’re going to appeal this fraud. We’re going to appeal on a number of different points.”
After Trump criticized Biden and Democrats over his conviction and trial, Biden also told reporters at the White House on Friday that “it is reckless, dangerous and irresponsible to say there was fraud just because you don’t like the verdict.”
In an interview on “Fox & Friends Weekend,” Trump said he was not allowed to talk about the hush money case, referring to a partial gag order issued by Marchant earlier this year, and repeated assertions without evidence that prosecutors were part of an effort by the Biden administration to sabotage his election prospects.
“The first presidential candidate, leader, and head of the Bad Joe [Biden] “Maybe they’re doing me a big favor because I’m pretty much not allowed to talk. Who knows,” he said. “But I’m not allowed to talk. My mouth is covered.”
The order bars Trump from speaking about court officials, potential jurors or potential witnesses.
During the trial, Judge Marchan fined Trump thousands of dollars for violating the order multiple times and warned him that he could face jail time if he violated it.
