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Good morning, I'm Taylor Wilson and today is Monday, May 13th, 2024. This is the

excerpt. Today how Trump is bracing voters for a guilty verdict in his hush money trial,

plus the latest from Gaza as U.S. officials speak out about arms to Israel

and why Senate colleagues don't want to talk about the Bob Menendez

trial.

The criminal hush money trial of former President Donald Trump is far from over with

key witness Michael Cohen expected to take the stand as early as today.

But Trump is already bracing voters for a guilty verdict.

My colleague Sarah Ganham spoke with USA Today, National Political Correspondent, David Jackson, for more.

Hi David, thanks so much for joining the excerpt.

Yeah, thanks for having me.

A lot of people who are following this trial have opinions about how it might end but what

is Trump himself saying? Well when he's asked he expresses optimism about the

trial but during his speeches and in his social media posts and interviews, he also harps on his belief that the trial is unfair and

he is definitely suggesting that he fears that he may well be convicted.

Why would a defendant essentially predict his own conviction and then publicly talk about that especially in a case that's so high profile?

Well because he wants to make sure his voters are prepared for the worst. He's basically trying to preempt the guilty verdict by telling people that it really doesn't mean anything because the judge is biased against him, the jury pool is biased against him, and the prosecutors are politically motivated.

So it's more of a suggestion that he's planning in people's minds just to get them

ready for the distinct possibility that he could be convicted.

And this is the tactic that's kind of worked before for him, right? Can you talk about that?

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