Donald Trump has escalated his baseless claims that his New York hush money trial was a political assassination attempt, a day after becoming the first former president in United States history convicted of criminal charges.

Speaking Friday morning at Trump Tower in New York City, Trump called the trial a “sham” and “rigged” in a rambling speech, but told his supporters that they, too, could be targeted.

“If they can do this to me, they can do this to anyone,” he told reporters. “They are bad people. In many cases, I think, they are sick people.”

Trump repeatedly attacked prosecutors and the judge in charge of the case, claiming – without providing any evidence – that the administration of US President Joe Biden was connected to the prosecution.

“This is all the work of Biden and his people,” Trump said, without providing any evidence. He announced that he would appeal the verdict.

Trump’s comments – which oscillated between condemning the trial and his now-famous campaign speeches – came less than 24 hours after the jury in New York City found the former president guilty on all 34 charges against him in his trial, which was followed by many observers.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office argued that Trump falsified business documents to conceal repayments to his personal agent and former lawyer Michael Cohen, for hush money payments to Pornstar Stormy Daniels.

Prosecutors said the payments to Daniels – in exchange for her silence about an alleged affair with Trump – were part of a larger plot to withhold negative information that would have damaged Trump before the 2016 presidential election, which he won.

They argued that Trump attempted to “defraud the electorate” in violation of New York state law.

The upcoming US presidential elections was big about the New York trial and Trump’s conviction could shake up the election campaign.

Trump, who will face Democratic President Joe Biden on November 5, has repeatedly stated – without evidence – that the hush money scandal was part of a coordinated effort to prevent his re-election.

Al Jazeera’s John Hendren reported from outside Trump Tower on Friday, however, noting that “Biden had nothing to do with it [the case]“.

“That was a New York jury … [Biden] is not in the New York District Attorney’s chain of command. There’s really no way Biden could have intervened in this particular case,” Hendren said.

“But Trump will make this a campaign issue. He says the final verdict will come in November … and there is no reason to believe the Republican Party will move away from him. So far, Republican support has been nearly universal.”

GOP leaders support Trump

Trump’s allies and leading members of the Republican Party have rallied behind the former president following the conviction. His son, Donald Trump Jr., called his father a “political prisoner” in a fundraising email.

On Friday, Trump’s 2024 campaign announced what it said was its largest single-day fundraising effort ever, raising $34.8 million since the verdict was announced.

Many Republicans echoed Trump’s argument – ​​again without evidence – that his conviction was the result of a politicized justice system.

Mike Johnson, the staunchly conservative Republican Speaker of the House, sharply criticized the process, calling it a “purely political and not a legal exercise.”

Even those who have recently tried to distance themselves from Trump, including Texas Senator John Cornyn, called the verdict “a disgrace.”

“Now more than ever, we must rally behind @realdonaldtrump, take back the White House and the Senate, and get the country back on track,” Cornyn wrote on X.

A spokesman for the White House counsel said in a brief statement after the ruling: “We respect the law,” but added that there would be no further comment.

‘Central point’

When Biden first addressed the verdict on Friday, he joined a chorus of Democrats who said the jury’s decision was a shining example of equality under American law, regardless of how powerful a defendant is.

Biden said the guilty verdict reaffirmed the “sacred principle that no one is above the law.”

He added: “This is reckless. This is dangerous. It is irresponsible for someone to claim that the trial was rigged just because they don’t like the verdict,” he said.

Under the U.S. Constitution, people convicted of a serious crime can still run for and win the presidency as long as they are over 35 years old, are natural-born U.S. citizens, and have been residents of the country for at least 14 years.

Trump is also facing three further chargesTwo of them relate to his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, which he lost to Biden, but none of them are expected to go to court before the November vote.

After the ruling in New York, Michael Tyler, spokesman for Biden’s 2024 campaign, said, “There is still only one way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office: at the ballot box.”

“Whether he is a convicted felon or not, Trump will be the Republican presidential nominee,” he said.

However, it remains unclear what political consequences the guilty verdict will have for Trump.

Polls have shown that most Republican voters not influenceable by the prospect of electing a convicted felon to the highest office in the land.

However, some recent opinion polls suggest that a conviction could dissuade some undecided voters from Trump or lead to a small portion of his supporters deciding not to vote for him.

In an election that is likely to be decided by razor-thin majorities, this could make the difference, experts say.

In an interview with Al Jazeera on Friday, Rina Shah, a political strategist and commentator, said the prevailing Republican opinion appears to be that the conviction “represents the [Trump’s] claim that this was a politically motivated witch hunt preordained by the Democrats.”

Trump is expected to be confirmed as the Republican presidential candidate for 2024 at the party’s convention in July.

The convention will take place just days after the verdict against Trump in the New York hush money trial on July 11. However, the verdict could be delayed due to the expected appeal by his defense team.

But while the Republican leadership has largely rallied around Trump, Shah said there are large parts of the party that have more confidence in the justice system.

“I believe the Republican Party is in a phase right now that will determine its fate for at least the next decade,” she said. “The next few months are a turning point.”