President Biden said Friday after former President Donald Trump was found guilty in his New York criminal trial “he’ll be given the opportunity, as he should, to appeal that decision, just like everyone else has that opportunity.”
Biden added that it was “reckless, it’s dangerous, it’s irresponsible for anyone to say this was rigged just because they don’t like the verdict.”
A jury convicted Trump Thursday on all 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree.
“The American principle that no one is above the law was reaffirmed. Donald Trump was given every opportunity to defend himself. It was a state case, not a federal case. And it was heard by a jury of 12 citizens, 12 Americans, 12 people like you, like millions of Americans who’ve served on juries,” Biden said at the White House. “This jury is chosen the same way every jury in America is chosen. It was the process that Donald Trump’s attorney was part of.”
LIVE UPDATES: TRUMP RAILS AGAINST ‘RIGGED’ CONVICTION
President Biden is speaking out Friday for the first time after former President Trump was found guilty in his New York criminal trial. (AP/Alex Brandon/Julia Nikhinson )
“The jury heard five weeks of evidence, five weeks. And after careful deliberation, the jury reached a unanimous verdict. They found Donald Trump guilty on all 34 felony counts. Now, he’ll be given the opportunity, as he should, to appeal that decision, just like everyone else has that opportunity. That’s how the American system of justice works,” Biden continued.
“And it’s reckless, it’s dangerous, it’s irresponsible for anyone to say this was rigged just because they don’t like the verdict,” Biden concluded. “Our justice system has endured for nearly 250 years and it literally is the cornerstone of America. Our justice system, that justice should be respected. And we should never allow anyone to tear it down. It’s as simple as that. That’s America. That’s who we are. And that’s who will always be, God willing.”
Biden then spoke about a proposal to bring an end to the Israel-Hamas war.
Following those remarks, reporters in the room asked Biden again about the Trump verdict, but he refused to respond.
“Mr. President, can you tell us, sir, Donald Trump refers to himself as a political prisoner and blames you directly. What’s your response to that, sir?” one reporter asked Biden as he was walking away.
Biden then turned around and cracked a grin at the media before heading out of the room.
TRUMP SAYS HE WOULD HAVE ‘LOVED’ TO TESTIFY IN NEW YORK CRIMINAL TRIAL
President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the verdict in former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial and on the Middle East, from the State Dining Room of the White House, on Friday, May 31. (AP/Evan Vucci)
Meanwhile, Trump’s campaign warned Biden Friday to “buckle up” following the verdict.
“Crooked Joe Biden and the Democrats confined President Trump to a courtroom for more than eight hours a day for more than six weeks, and he’s still winning,” Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Digital. “Now that he is fully back on the campaign trail, Biden and the Democrats better buckle up.”
Then at a press conference at Trump Tower in New York, the former president said he “wanted to testify” on his own behalf, but that “the theory is you never testify.”
“It’s very important, far beyond me,” Trump said about the case. “And this can’t be allowed to happen to other presidents. It should never be allowed to happen in the future. But this is far beyond me. This is bigger than Trump. This is bigger than me. This is bigger than my presidency,” he said.
Trump’s campaign also announced Friday that it had hauled in $34.8 million in fundraising from 6 p.m. ET to midnight on Thursday, in the hours after the verdict was read.
Donald Trump arrives to Trump Tower, Thursday, May 30, 2024 after being found guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. (Felipe Ramales for Fox News Digital)
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They said the haul was “nearly double the biggest day ever recorded for the Trump campaign on the WinRed platform” and emphasized that the guilty verdicts “have awakened the MAGA movement like never before.”
Fox News’ Brooke Singman, Brianna Herlihy and Kyle Morris contributed to this report.