International
Will Trump’s verdict impact his presidential career?
For a long time, former US president Donald Trump has been leading the polls to return to the White House in front of a Joe Biden in low hours. The country wonders this Friday if the Republican’s guilty verdict will impact his presidential career.
Trump on Thursday became the first former U.S. president to be found guilty in a criminal trial, in his case on 34 charges of serious crimes of falsification of commercial records related to the payment of a porn actress to protect her presidential career in 2016.
The Republican politician, who has denounced from the beginning that he suffers a “witch hunt,” declared that the “royal verdict” will be given by the voters in the elections on November 5.
Biden also took advantage of the historic day to campaign and affirm that “there is only one way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office: at the polls,” said the Democratic president.
After the jury’s guilty verdict was heard, it is the turn of Judge Juan Merchán, who will announce the sentence on July 11, a few days before the Republican Party officially names Trump as its candidate at the National Convention to be held in Milwaukee (Wisconsin).
Each of the crimes carries penalties of up to 4 years in prison, which can be served simultaneously, although the judge can also opt for other alternatives such as parole, house arrest or fines.
Of course, the defiant behavior that Trump has had during the trial will not serve to mitigate his sentence.
But since he has already turned 77 and has no criminal record, “it is very unlikely that he will go to jail,” Mark Smith, a constitutionalist expert at Cedarville University (Ohio), tells EFE.
In addition, in the event that he was sentenced to prison, this would not disable him from participating in next November’s elections, in which he tries to take the charge from Biden.
The defense of the tycoon will appeal the judge’s decision and will try to extend the judicial process to the maximum, trying to get the final sentence out when he is already the new president in the White House.
According to Smith, if he received a prison sentence already as president, his compliance would be delayed until after his term in office since it would be considered that “his role as president is more important” than immediately complying with a sentence of a state court.
Therefore, the doubt of whether voters will punish Trump after hearing the verdict and the sentence becomes even more important. The indications so far point to the opposite.
Neither the details of the trial nor the other three criminal charges that weigh on Trump (two for electoral interference in 2020 and another for having taken classified documents from the White House) have diminished his strong electoral base in a very polarized country.
According to the average of polls made by the FiveThirtyEight portal, Trump would win the elections at the national level with 41.3% of the votes compared to 39.3% of Biden.
A survey published by the public media NPR and PBS before the guilty verdict was known reflected that 67% of Americans do not intend to change the meaning of their vote based on what the jury decided on Trump.
The trial IN New York is also perceived as the least serious one faced by Trump, but the other three are paralyzed waiting for the Supreme Court to decide if the former president has immunity and can hardly be carried out before the elections.
The Republican appeared this Friday before the press in a new attempt to mobilize his base, where he called the trial in New York “rigged” and claimed that he continues to lead the polls.
For political scientist Geoffrey Bowden, it is clear that the Republican’s strategy will continue to be to “affirm that the judicial system is manipulated” and act as “a victim.”
“Trump’s most loyal supporters will believe that the whole process is rigged but most Americans don’t believe it,” the analyst told EFE.
A prison sentence, therefore, could demobilize Trump’s more moderate voters and that is dangerous for the Republican in key states where elections are tighter, such as Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada.
International
Study finds COVID-19 vaccines prevented 2.5 million deaths worldwide
COVID-19 vaccines prevented an estimated 2,533,000 deaths worldwide between 2020 and 2024, according to an international study led by Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Italy and Stanford University in the United States, published in the journal JAMA Health Forum. Researchers calculated that one death was prevented for every 5,400 doses administered.
The analysis also found that the vaccines saved 14.8 million years of life, equivalent to one year of life gained for every 900 doses given.
The study, coordinated by Professor Stefania Boccia, revealed that 82% of the lives saved were people vaccinated before becoming infected with the virus, and 57% of deaths avoided occurred during the Omicron wave. In addition, 90% of the beneficiaries were adults over 60 years old.
“This is the most comprehensive analysis to date, based on global data and fewer assumptions about the evolution of the pandemic,” explained Boccia and researcher Angelo Maria Pezzullo.
International
Trump administration blasts judge’s ruling reinstating TPS for Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump criticized a federal judge’s ruling on Friday that reinstated Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua, stressing that the immigration program was never intended to serve as a “de facto asylum system.”
On Thursday, Judge Trina Thompson extended protections for about 7,000 Nepalese immigrants, whose TPS was set to expire on August 5. The ruling also impacts roughly 51,000 Hondurans and nearly 3,000 Nicaraguans, whose TPS protections were scheduled to end on September 8.
Immigrants covered by TPS had sued the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), alleging that the program’s termination was driven by “racial animus” and stripped them of protection from deportation.
DHS Deputy Undersecretary Tricia McLaughlin issued a statement saying the decision to end TPS was part of a mandate to “restore the integrity” of the immigration system and return the program to its original purpose.
“TPS was never conceived as a de facto asylum system; however, that is how previous administrations have used it for decades,” McLaughlin emphasized.
She also criticized Judge Thompson, calling the ruling “another example” of judges “stirring up claims of racism to distract from the facts.”
McLaughlin added that DHS would appeal the decision and take the legal battle to higher courts.
The Trump administration has also terminated TPS protections for approximately 160,000 Ukrainians, 350,000 Venezuelans, and at least half a million Haitians, among other immigrant groups.
International
Trump to build $200M ballroom at the White House by 2028
The U.S. government under President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that it will begin construction in September on a new 8,000-square-meter ballroom at the White House.
The announcement was made by Karoline Leavitt, the administration’s press secretary, during a briefing in which she explained that the expansion responds to the need for a larger venue to host “major events.”
“Other presidents have long wished for a space capable of accommodating large gatherings within the White House complex… President Trump has committed to solving this issue,” Leavitt told reporters.
The project is estimated to cost $200 million, fully funded through donations from Trump himself and other “patriots,” according to a government statement. Construction is scheduled to begin in September and is expected to be completed before Trump’s term ends in 2028.
The Clark Construction Group, a Virginia-based company known for projects such as the Capital One Arena and L’Enfant Plaza in Washington, D.C., has been selected to lead the project.
The new ballroom will be built on the East Wing of the White House, expanding the iconic residence with a space designed for state dinners, official ceremonies, and large-scale events.
Study finds COVID-19 vaccines prevented 2.5 million deaths worldwide
Trump administration blasts judge’s ruling reinstating TPS for Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua
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