Trump’s Conviction Is a Grim Sign for US Politics

By all appearances, the Republican Party will stick with Donald Trump after his conviction Thursday on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in a New York City courthouse. The former president will be sentenced on July 11, four days before the party’s convention. Conceivably, the Republican presidential candidate in 2024 will be nominated from Rikers Island. It’s nothing to celebrate.

Trump pronounced himself, as you knew he would, “a very innocent man.” He may indeed have room to appeal these charges, which weren’t entirely straightforward. And one might hope that Trump, always sui generis, is in no sense a precedent.