Former President Trump announces appeal of hush money case

Former US President Donald Trump announced on May 31 that he will appeal the verdict that found him guilty in the hush money case, although the 45th White House boss will have to wait until after the sentencing hearing on July 11 to take this step.

Speaking in the lobby of Trump Tower in Manhattan - the center of New York City, former President Trump repeated the accusation that the "very unfair" trial was aimed at hindering his efforts to return to the White House.

Trump's 33-minute, unscripted speech was met with applause from supporters. The former US president did not take questions from reporters after the speech.

On the same day, in his first statement at the White House since the verdict was announced, President Joe Biden criticized his predecessor Trump for claiming that the US judicial system was being manipulated.

Biden stressed that the verdict against former President Trump in the hush money case proved that “no one is above the law.”

In another related development, the results of a Reuters/Ipsos poll of 2,556 American adults nationwide on May 30 and 31 showed that 10% of registered voters who support the Republican Party were less likely to vote for Mr. Trump after the above ruling.

In contrast, 56% said the incident would not affect their vote and 35% were likely to still vote for Mr. Trump.

Among independent voters, 25% said the verdict against former President Trump makes them less likely to vote for the Republican candidate in November, while 18% said they are more likely to support him and 56% said they are still voting for him.

According to the poll results, the two candidates Biden and Trump are still in a close race.

Specifically, 41% of voters emphasized that they would vote for the current US President if the election took place right now, while 39% pledged to choose former President Trump.