'Chorus of poison' Republican allies denounce verdict - and undermine faith in US justice

A shameful day in American history.

- David Smith

A sham show trial. A kangaroo A total witch court hunt. Worthy of a banana republic.

These were the reactions from senior elected Republicans, who once claimed the mantle of the party of law and order, to the news that Donald Trump had become the first former US president convicted of a crime.

It soon became clear that one of America's two major political parties was determined to undermine faith in the US judicial system with expressions of rage and demands for revenge, creating an alternative view of the US in which Joe Biden is a clear and present danger to US democracy.

Experts warned that by sowing distrust in institutions and the rule of law, Trump, his supporters and his Republican allies were creating a political tinderbox in advance of November's presidential election. In the coming months - especially as Trump faces sentencing in July - that sense of dread and fear of political unrest is likely to only increase dramatically.

"We've entered new political and legal territory as a nation," the historian Tim Naftali wrote on X. "Donald Trump will now force every GOP candidate to trash our judicial system. There will be a chorus of poison likely worse than what we heard before January 6. Should he win, he'd have a more toxic mandate than in '17."

On Thursday a jury in New York pronounced Trump guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. He will be sentenced on 11 July, four days before the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

While Democrats hailed the verdict as proof that America's system of checks and balances remains robust and able to hold political leaders to account, the former president claimed the trial was "rigged" and a "disgrace", adding: "The real verdict is going to be November 5 by the people."