www.nbcnews.com Open in urlscan Pro
2600:141b:1c00:2284::2506  Public Scan

Form analysis
0 forms found in the DOM

Text Content

NBC News Logo
 * Navalny funeral
 * Trump investigations
 * Texas wildfire
 * Israel-Hamas war
 * Politics
 * U.S. News
 * World
 * Business
 * Health
 * Culture & trends
 * NBC News Tipline
 * Video


NBC News Logo

Sections

 * U.S. News
 * Politics
 * World
 * Local
 * Business
 * Health
 * Investigations
 * Culture & Trends
 * Science
 * Sports
 * Tech & Media
 * Video Features
 * Photos
 * Weather
 * NBC Select
 * Decision 2024
 * NBC Asian America
 * NBC BLK
 * NBC Latino
 * NBC OUT

Featured

 * NBC News Now
 * Nightly Films
 * Stay Tuned
 * Special Features
 * Newsletters
 * Podcasts
 * Listen Now

tv

 * Today
 * Nightly News
 * MSNBC
 * Meet the Press
 * Dateline

Follow NBC News

 * 
 * 
 * 

More From NBC

 * CNBC
 * NBC.COM
 * NBCU Academy
 * Peacock
 * NEXT STEPS FOR VETS
 * NBC News Site Map
 * Help

 * About
 * Contact
 * Help
 * Careers
 * Ad Choices
 * Privacy Policy
 * Do Not Sell My Personal Information
 * CA Notice
 * Terms of Service (Updated JULY 7, 2023)
 * NBC News Sitemap
 * Closed Captioning
 * Advertise
 * Select Shopping
 * Select Personal Finance

© 2024 NBCNEWS.COM

Close the sidebar
2024 Election


BATTLEGROUND VOTERS SOUND OFF ON HOW TRUMP'S GUILTY VERDICT WILL SHAPE 2024

Residents of Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin split on whether the
New York trial will send voters running from Trump or ultimately rebound in his
favor.


Donald Trump leaves the courthouse after a jury found him guilty of all 34
felony counts in his criminal trial at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York on
Thursday.AP
SHARE THIS —
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 

May 31, 2024, 2:28 PM EDT
By Emma Barnett, Shaquille Brewster, Nnamdi Egwuonwu, Kailani Koenig and Alex
Tabet

Voters across several key battleground states reacted to former President Donald
Trump's guilty verdict in New York with a mixture of disgust at his conduct and
anger at the court, with a side of uncertainty about the charges he faced in the
hush money trial.

More than 30 voters in Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin who spoke to
NBC News painted different pictures of potential outcomes after the verdict,
with some suggesting it will hurt the former president in the 2024 election
while a few others thought it would rebound to his benefit. Others noted that
views of Trump have grown so hardened over the past eight years that very few
people might shift either way after this.




"I mean, you can say it could change the race, but with him — he tricky," said
Jamyiah Reed, a 21-year-old from Phoenix who is undecided on her 2024 vote. She
added that Trump has "a lot of supporters and they’re very stern on their
beliefs to support him. So I don’t think that the trial will make people not
support him … it's sad to say, but they look at him like a god."



And while Trump's guilty verdict penetrated the bubbles of people who don't
typically follow the news every day, the details of the trial were still lost on
a number of voters who spoke with NBC News.

Asked if he understood the charges Trump faced in New York, 28-year-old Jalil
Gray of Mesa, Arizona, said no — though he said Trump's past now "might hurt
him" in 2024, even after Gray supported him in 2016 and 2020. He is undecided
now.

"I’m a common person here — live day to day, do my own thing, work, make my
money, go home," Gray said about the charges Trump faced. "Whatever he does, is
what he does."



Koda Furman, a Kenosha, Wisconsin resident who is not currently planning to
vote, said, "I was just on TikTok scrolling past and I saw some memes about what
happened with Donald Trump and all that. … Something happened with him and court
and all that [and] he got caught."

Donald Trump walks out of court and toward the media following the verdict in
his hush money trial, in New York on Thursday.Mark Peterson / AP

Several Trump supporters noted that his legal troubles in 2023, when he was
indicted in New York and three other jurisdictions on charges including
allegedly mishandling classified documents and conspiring to overturn the 2020
election results, ended up boosting his polling in the GOP primary.

"It might have them vote for him even more, because of what they’ve put him
through," said Barbara Bennett, 83, a retired nurse assistant in Phoenix who is
planning to vote for Trump for a third time this year. "I mean, I’m sure there’s
a lot of things about his personality that I don’t like, but I did love his
presidency."

"I think it’s going to backfire, I really do," said Roland Grap, another
longtime Trump supporter from Pittsburgh. "Most people want to have the decision
in their hands, not the decision of some court in New York."



In Georgia, Emani L., a 32-year-old Clayton County resident who declined to
share his last name, said he was moved to support for Trump.


RECOMMENDED


2024 ELECTIONOHIO PASSES BILL TO ENSURE BIDEN WILL APPEAR ON STATE'S GENERAL
ELECTION BALLOT

"My reaction, because I’m a felon, I would still vote for Donald Trump," Emani
said, calling him "more relatable" to young Black people like himself. "What he
did in the past, what he got going on, don’t have nothing to do with his
business side. He’s a good businessman. So I’d vote for him."

But plenty of other voters said the verdict would give them or their
acquaintances pause.

"From what I’ve seen, it seems like I’d probably still vote Trump, but he
doesn’t seem like as good a candidate" after being found guilty, said Vincent
Beltran of Kenosha, Wisconsin, who also said he didn't think President Joe Biden
was a good enough candidate. He added: "It’s messed up that he went that way to
win the race. I don’t know, maybe I’ll still vote for him. We’ll see."



Another Arizona voter who supported Trump in the past had similar things to say.

"I think it’s such a close election, this could cajole the electorate in a
different direction, you know, that people may not want to elect a convicted
felon," said Robbie Mayer, a 75-year-old retired prosecutor from Phoenix who
twice backed Trump but is planning to sit out the 2024 election, saying both
Trump and Biden are "terrible."

Muhammad Fauzail, 34, said that he's "still thinking about" his vote in Decatur,
Georgia, balancing concern about Biden's Israel policy with distaste for Trump
and the feeling that his conduct embarrassed the country.

"I think we’ll have to work with what we have at this point," Fauzail said. "One
of them, either Biden or Trump, will be president and that’s, that’s… yeah,
that’s the situation that we’re in right now."



"I would probably go with Biden, because I know that Trump would do the same
thing when it comes to the war in Gaza, but he would be worse for America
internally," Fauzail said."

Noah F., a 2020 Biden voter from Gwinnett County, Georgia, who declined to
provide his last name, said he's not a fan of Biden or Trump and isn't planning
to vote for either. On Trump's guilty verdict he sad, "Honestly, what does it
change? He got convicted. I mean, he’s still gonna run for office ... So many
people are behind him. I don’t see him losing regardless of the verdict."

A number of voters felt on more solid ground talking about the potential effects
of the case than the details of the case itself, noting that Trump has generated
a lot of controversy in the last decade.

"No, I don’t know the 34 counts," Reed, of Phoenix, said. "He's got a lot going
on. It's always something from from this to that."

Emma Barnett

Emma Barnett is a 2024 NBC News campaign embed.

Shaquille Brewster

Shaquille Brewster is a political reporter for NBC News and MSNBC.

Nnamdi Egwuonwu

Nnamdi Egwuonwu is a 2024 NBC News campaign embed.

Kailani Koenig

Kailani Koenig covers politics and national affairs as a producer for MSNBC and
NBC News.

Alex Tabet

Alex Tabet is a 2024 NBC News campaign embed.

CONTINUE READING




we and our partners use cookies on this site to improve our service, perform
analytics, personalize advertising, measure advertising performance, and
remember website preferences. by using the site, you consent to these cookies.
for more information on cookies including how to manage your consent visit
our cookie policy.

continue



 * About
 * Contact
 * Help
 * Careers
 * Ad Choices
 * Privacy Policy
 * Do Not Sell My Personal Information
 * CA Notice
 * Terms of Service (Updated JULY 7, 2023)
 * NBC News Sitemap
 * Closed Captioning
 * Advertise
 * Select Shopping
 * Select Personal Finance

© 2024 NBC UNIVERSAL

NBC News LogoMSNBC LogoToday Logo