Victory for Trump, his sentence announcement postponed until after the election

Republican candidate Donald Trump scored another major victory on Friday, with his sentencing in New York postponed until after the US presidential election.

Convicted of criminal charges in New York at the end of May, the former president will learn the details of his sentence at the end of November, three weeks after the election, rather than in September.

The septuagenarian welcomed the postponement, decided by a judge, saying that the case “should be closed”. “I did nothing wrong!” he said.

– “Witch Hunts” –

The decision was announced just minutes after Donald Trump gave a very rambling speech in New York that focused on his legal troubles.

Sporting his traditional red tie, he discussed in no particular order his civil trial for sexual assault and his criminal conviction for concealed payments to a pornographic actress during the 2016 presidential campaign. He also attacked his lawyers.

Photo combo of Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, created on July 22, 2024 © AFP – Brendan SMIALOWSKI, Patrick T. Fallon

It was only after 40 minutes of this singular tirade that the Republican began to mention his Democratic rival, assuring that he was “largely ahead” in the polls on the presidential election of November 5.

The opinion polls are much more nuanced on this question, placing the two candidates neck and neck for the time being.

The Republican then flew to North Carolina, one of the most contested states in the presidential election where he received the support of a powerful police union.

The former president blames Joe Biden and the vice president for being responsible for a wave of crime linked to illegal immigration.

“Kamala “Harris and the Communists have caused a real bloodbath in our country,” he said from Charlotte, which the statistics contradict.

Security and immigration are nonetheless subjects on which Kamala Harris has a credibility deficit, according to several polls.

– Preparing for the debate –

Her campaign team sought to respond on Friday by publishing a letter of support signed by police officers.

Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, in New York, United States, on September 5, 2024 © AFP – David Dee Delgado

“In November, Americans will have to choose between someone who has spent his life enforcing our laws and someone who has been convicted of breaking them,” the message reads, in reference to the Democrat's former career as a prosecutor and her opponent's criminal conviction in New York.

Donald Trump, who is facing several other charges including for trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election, will hold a campaign rally on Saturday in Wisconsin, another hotly contested state in this indirect universal suffrage election.

Her rival set up camp in Pennsylvania on Thursday, her base camp to prepare for the debate with her Republican opponent, organized on September 10 by ABC in Philadelphia.

The vice president, who has only given one interview since she entered the race, also gave a radio interview on Friday, calling for “turning the page on the Trump era”.

– Big money –

According to media reports, she should make a few public appearances before the televised debate, breaking with Joe Biden's strategy of disappearing from the radar for several days to prepare for his June confrontation with Donald Trump, during which he completely lost his footing.

The fifty-year-old will be able to rely on a copious treasure of war.

US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, in Pennsylvania, United States, on September 5, 2024 © POOL – Elizabeth Frantz

Her campaign team announced that it had raised $361 million in August, “three times more” than the opposing camp, she assures.

The Democrat has a reserve of fresh money of 404 million dollars, less than two months before an election that is causing colossal spending on both sides, particularly on electoral advertising.

Donald Trump's campaign team had reported 295 million dollars immediately available.

Kamala Harris, who is seeking to broaden her base by winning the votes of moderate voters, won the notable support of former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney on Friday.

The octogenarian, known for his ultra-conservative positions, assured that Donald Trump constituted the “greatest threat” to democracy in all of American political history, particularly because of his role during the storming of the Capitol.

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