‘Historic verdict’: How US media covered the conviction of Donald Trump

Daily newspapers and popular magazines across the US reported on the landmark legal reckoning for the former president on their front pages. This is how they broke the news:

1. Washington Post, ‘Trump found guilty’

The front page of The Washington Post for May 31, 2024.

On its front page, the Washington Post called the verdict ‘historic’. “The verdict is an extraordinary loss for the presumptive GOP nominee, who delivered near-daily tirades outside the courtroom throughout the trial — excoriating the justice system and declaring his innocence,” wrote Shayna Jacobs, Devlin Barrett, Derek Hawkins, and Mark Berman front their front-page article.

2. New York Times, ‘Guilty’

The front page of The New York Times for May 31, 2024.

In a report titled ‘First Ex-President to Become a Felon Plans to Appeal‘, the Times said: “While it was once unthinkable that Americans would elect a felon as their leader, Mr. Trump’s insurgent behavior delights his supporters as he bulldozes the country’s norms. Now, the man who refused to accept his 2020 election loss is already seeking to delegitimize his conviction, attempting to assert the primacy of his raw political power over the nation’s rule of law.”

3. TIME

Here is how the cover of the TIME magazine in the US depicted the ruling:

TIME’s new cover.

In the cover story titled ‘Donald Trump Convicted in Historic New York Hush-Money Trial‘, Tessa Berenson Rogers, Brian Bennett, and Eric Cortellessa said: “The trial that led to the first-ever criminal conviction of a former U.S. President was often marked by its unseemliness. A motley cast of characters—the former porn star, the tabloid publisher, the crying press aide, the disgraced former fixer—recounted episodes of spankings, clandestine meetings, and payoffs, all intended to establish that Trump had criminally conspired to hide information about his behavior that could have affected voters’ choices.”

4. Boston Globe, ‘Trump Guilty’

Homepage of the Boston Globe’s official website on May 31, 2024.

5. Los Angeles Times, ‘Trump found guilty on all charges’

Homepage of the Los Angeles Times on March 31, 2024.

How international media covered the ruling

1. The Guardian, ‘Donald Trump found guilty of hush-money plot to influence 2016 election’

Homepage of the Guardian on May 31, 2024.

In their report for The Guardian, Hugo Lowell and Victoria Bekeimpis wrote: “For Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg the verdict was an astonishing victory, coming after some skepticism of the wisdom of bringing such a case and the huge risks involved.”

2. BBC, Donald Trump guilty on all accounts in historic trial

Homepage of BBC.com on May 31, 2024.

In a report titled ‘What Trump’s conviction means for the election‘, BBC correspondent Anthony Zurcher wrote: “While Trump plans his appeal in the hush-money case, and awaits a sentence on 11 July that could in theory include prison time and a hefty fine, it’s not too early to consider the political fallout.”

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