Welcome to Meet the Press Now, I'm Peter Alexander here in Washington as the

presidential campaign enters a new stage after that historic verdict, a jury

finding former president Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential

nominee guilty on 34

felony counts of falsifying business records making him the first

American president ever convicted of a crime. Judge Juan Mershahn scheduled

Mr. Trump sentencing for July 11th.

That's just four days before the start of the Republican National Convention.

Just ahead we're going to dive into what is next in the legal process for the poor

president who has vowed to appeal the conviction.

But today we do want to begin with the politics of this moment

and what it means for the presidential race

that has been essentially frozen by this trial for weeks.

In the 23 hours since the verdict was handed down, we have seen Republicans rally behind

the former president as both he and his allies rail against the verdict and attack the fundamentals of the American justice system.

This morning, and what the campaign billed as a post verdict news conference, Mr. Trump didn't take any questions.

Instead, he delivered a feisty and rambling speech.

He erred his grievances again baselessly called the trial rigged, attacked the judge,

a key witness, and President Biden,

and criticized everything from the situation on the southern border to. and prosecution was a targeted political effort.

It all comes out of the White House,

crooked Joe Biden, the worst president

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