NEW YORK—A crowd of saddened but optimistic supporters of former President Donald Trump on Tuesday gathered outside a lower Manhattan courthouse, with some of them saying the Democrat-led effort to bring criminal charges against the nation’s top Republican would only boost his 2024 presidential campaign.
The first U.S. president to ever be prosecuted after leaving office, Trump now faces 34 counts of falsifying business records in connection to an alleged $130,000 payment for a non-disclosure agreement signed between adult film actress Stormy Daniels and Trump’s then-attorney, Michael Cohen.
Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges, which are brought by New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat who made prosecuting Trump a cornerstone of his 2020 campaign.
“Everybody knows this is not right,” said Frank Goncalves of Long Island, who describes himself as a supporter since the fateful 2015 escalator ride that signaled the beginning of Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. “It will increase his turnout.”
Juan Martin, a 54-year-old former resident of the Bronx, agreed. “This is a boost for him,” he told The Epoch Times, noting that there’s a matter of the statute of limitations, which is two years for the misdemeanor and five years for the felony falsification charge.
The charges leveled at Trump on Tuesday stem from a payment made seven years ago. Although in New York, the statute of limitations can be “tolled” if the defendant was not continuously residing in the state, there remains an open question of whether moving to the White House would count.
“I’ve never seen a case that has a limitation of two years come back after seven years from nothing to become a felony,” said Martin, “It makes no sense, but that’s what they do.”
“People who are on the fence are going to vote for Trump,” Lichtbraun told The Epoch Times when asked how she thinks the case might affect Trump’s White House bid. “It’s going to end up either getting thrown out, or he’s going to be found innocent. And then we will have the last lap.”
Also showing up at both Trump Tower and the courthouse was D'Anne Andrea. A residence of Queens, Andrea said she agrees “one hundred thousand percent” with the idea that Tuesday’s action could provide a boost of energy to Trump’s presidential bid.
“I think this is going to make people who are still asleep to wake up a bit more and see that, no matter what side you’re on, they’re going to use the power against you,” she said. “I feel that it’s going to be a positive outcome.”
Another supporter, Steve Merczynski, said while the ongoing prosecution could potentially help Trump draw support from fair-minded Americans, he finds it disheartening for a presidential frontrunner to be targeted this way in America.
“If anything, maybe it‘ll bring more people who are fair to his side, because they’ll see how he’s targeted,” the Brooklyn-born Manhattan resident told the Epoch Times. “It’s tough to find people who are fair, but if they listen, they'll realize that this is not right and that he’s treated unfairly. So it could help him that way.”
“But overall, this is bad for the country,” he continued. “In this country. You don’t target someone and then look for a crime. And that’s what happened here.”
The Democrats’ treatment of Trump might also prompt Republican prosecutors to retaliate, Merczynski noted, saying that he'd like to see the battlefield being evened out.
“What I would hope is that something like this will encourage Republican district attorneys, Republican attorney generals who have the power, to start targeting Democrats,” he said. “Once that happens, then maybe we could get some equilibrium again in our justice system because right now, it’s only the Democrats who are using the legal system to hurt us.”
While there’s no definitive conclusion on whether the indictment will have a positive impact on his 2024 campaign, Trump proved not too long ago that he could turn a high-profile attack against him into better ratings and more cash.
In August 2022, after the FBI raided Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort for alleged classified documents, his approval ratings among Republicans reached a new high, with his fundraising campaign raking in millions in a matter of days.
The Trump campaign has already raised $7 million in the three days following news of the indictment, according to Trump campaign senior adviser Jason Miller.
Trump will be addressing supporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort this evening.
