Trump verdict tests American public's tolerance

Donald Trump said on Sunday in a television interview that potential imprisonment or house arrest is not a problem for him, but he thinks "it'd be tough for the public to take."

- I think it'd be tough for the public to take. You know, at a certain point, there's a breaking point - said the former US president in an interview with Fox News.

However, he did not explain what he thinks might happen if the critical point is reached.

The jury in a state court in Manhattan, New York, found the former president guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records. He was accused of concealing the fact that he paid porn actress Stormy Daniels for her silence during the 2016 election campaign about their alleged sexual encounter. Donald Trump denies the charges.

Judge Juan Merchan will decide the sentencing on 11 July. This will happen four days before the Republican convention to choose their candidate for the White House formally.

In the November elections, he will face the Democratic president, Joe Biden.

When asked by CNN what supporters of the former president should do if he went to prison, the co-chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC), Lara Trump (daughter-in-law of Donald Trump), replied: "Well, they're gonna do what they've done from the beginning, which is remain calm and protest at the ballot box on November 5th. There's nothing to do other than make your voices heard loud and clear and speak out against this."

Reuters noted that Trump used the jury's decision to intensify campaign fundraising efforts. The RNC and Trump's team raised £58 million within 48 hours of the verdict.

He did not try to mobilise his supporters in any other way, unlike his comments after losing to Biden in the 2020 election. At that time, there was an attack by his supporters on 6 January 2021 on the US Congress facilities.