Politics
President Biden is reportedly planning to speak “from the White House” about former President Donald Trump’s Manhattan criminal trial as the jury delivers its verdict.
According to Politico, the 81-year-old president’s messaging will be tailored depending on the outcome of the trial, but in any scenario, he plans to stress that the US justice system works and that Americans should respect the court process.
Biden is expected to make remarks whether the 77-year-old former president is found guilty or not guilty, or whether jurors are unable to agree on a verdict.
Closing arguments are set to begin on Tuesday in President Trump’s trial over alleged hush money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels.
It is believed the jury could reach a verdict as early as next week.
The exact date and location of Biden’s speech has yet to be determined, but multiple sources told the outlet it will not take place during the election campaign.
Biden is expected to speak from the White House grounds to avoid his comments being perceived as political.
The Biden campaign is also preparing for the historic verdict and, if convicted, is reportedly considering calling the presumptive Republican presidential nominee “convicted felon Donald Trump” in social media posts.
A poll released Thursday by the Cook Political Report found that majorities of voters in battleground states are more concerned about Biden’s age than Trump’s criminal case.
When voters in Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Nevada, North Carolina, Georgia and Wisconsin were asked whether they were more concerned about President Trump’s “temperament and legal issues” or Biden’s “age and ability to do the job,” more than half (53%) said the president’s stage of life and mental acuity were more of a concern than the former president’s four criminal cases and two civil judgments.
The Washington Post has reached out to the White House for comment.
