Former President Donald Trump is now a convicted felon. This afternoon, a jury in New York City determined he conducted business fraud in a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through a hush money payment to an adult film star.

For the first time ever, a former US president is now a convicted felon found guilty by a jury

of his peers of 34 felony counts. American history a a maximum for all charges of 20 years up to four for each count with the

maximum of 20 years. Well this verdict takes the 2024 election into

uncharted territory no major party has ever nominated a convicted felon for president.

It's one more thing for voters across the country to consider in November. So, It's notes from America. I'm Kai Wright. Welcome to the show. We are, yes, once again, in unprecedented political

territory. Donald Trump is now a convicted felon on 34 counts of falsifying business records during his 2016 campaign in order to conceal a sexual affair with a porn actor.

He denies the fair itself, but the cover-up is the criminal matter. That makes him the first former president with the criminal conviction, and potentially he will be the first sitting president with a criminal record should he win in November.

In the days and weeks before this verdict came down, news organizations polled likely voters

to see if anybody cares.

The findings in some were that very few people felt

that a guilty verdict in this case would matter at all

in how they vote.

But that was in theory before he actually became a convicted felon.

And honestly, I suspect there are many, many people who, like myself,

long ago,

grew fatigued, shall we say,

with following the twist and turns

of Donald Trump's life on the public stage.

And so I suspect a lot of people looked up

on Thursday afternoon

when those 34 guilty counts came down

...