Race for the White House is thrown into turmoil after Trump guilty verdict

THE race for the White House was upended today as Donald Trump’s historic conviction reverberated across the United States and the world in the build-up to his momentous election rematch against Joe Biden.

- Jitendra Joshi

Mr Trump, 77, was expected to appeal against his guilty verdicts on 34 counts of falsifying business records which potentially carry up to four years in jail — although there is nothing in the US constitution to stop him from running in November.

His sentencing is due on July 11. Prior to that, the first of two presidential debates is scheduled for June 27. Among the many questions thrown up by the conviction was whether Mr Biden, 81, would now agree to share a stage with a convicted felon.

But Mr Biden and Mr Trump both agreed that the most important date remained Election Day on November 4. Biden spokesman Michael Tyler said the very first conviction of a former president showed that nobody was “above the law”.

“There is still only one way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office: at the ballot box,” he said. “A second Trump term means chaos, ripping away Americans’ freedoms and fomenting political violence — and the American people will reject it this November.”

Mr Trump was found guilty of trying to illegally influence the 2016 election by getting his former lawyer Michael Cohen to pay hush money to ex-porn star Stormy

Daniels, after she claimed that they had had sex.