Former U.S. president Donald Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts of falsified business records and financial fraud on May 30.
“I think that he probably was guilty of fraud, so I think that is a rightful conviction that is completely justified,” said Heathcliff Herndon, a seventh-grader on the Trailblazers team.
The charges include false ledger records, false invoices, and artificially inflating and deflating the value of his real estate.
“I wouldn’t vote for a president who committed crimes and abuses his power to get away with them,” said Celine Liu, an eighth-grader on the Wolves team.
The jury unanimously declared Trump guilty of falsifying business records to cover up a $130,000 payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels. The sentencing is set to occur on July 11, just days before the Republican National Convention. At the sentencing, the judge will determine whether Trump will go to prison for a maximum of four years or be put on probation.
“If I could vote, I’d definitely take the conviction into consideration, and I might not vote for him anymore because of the crimes he committed,” said Isha Katti, a seventh-grader on the Champions team.
Trump’s legal team also plans to appeal to a higher level of court, and he’s still facing three other criminal cases as well as running for president. Celine believes this will sway the results of the next election.
“I theorize most votes will go to the other side as most people don’t want a criminal as their president,” Celine said.
On the other hand, Heathcliff believes that the election won’t be dramatically impacted by the conviction.
“I do not think that [the conviction] will change the perspectives of very many voters,” he said. “Voters have very strong opinions in this modern era.”
