--- title: Watch Biden React to Trump Blaming Him For Guilty Verdict description: A reporter asked President Biden to respond to Donald Trump blaming him for his historic conviction. canonical: https://time.com/6984738/president-biden-reacts-trump-accusation-hush-money-trial-conviction/ author: Rebecca Schneid article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2024-06-01T16:10:58.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:50:28.141Z article:section: Politics og:title: Biden Reacts to Trump Blaming Him For Hush-Money Verdict og:description: A reporter asked President Biden to respond to Donald Trump blaming him for his historic conviction. og:url: https://time.com/6984738/president-biden-reacts-trump-accusation-hush-money-trial-conviction/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3e1582dbd67f4d39/698a5773929fad2508bfc978/1.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2000 og:image:height: 1125 og:image:alt: Biden, Trump og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Biden Reacts to Trump Blaming Him For Hush-Money Verdict twitter:description: A reporter asked President Biden to respond to Donald Trump blaming him for his historic conviction. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3e1582dbd67f4d39/698a5773929fad2508bfc978/1.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Watch Biden React to Trump Blaming Him For Hush-Money Trial Conviction > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=ccf2011d-7ad1-4395-83f1-dc2beeee4613&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Biden Calls Trump's Claims of a Rigged Trial "'Reckless... Dangerous" and "Irresponsible" [Watch (HLS stream): Biden Calls Trump's Claims of a Rigged Trial "'Reckless... Dangerous" and "Irresponsible"](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/mtYrzKf4.m3u8) (1:42)  _Published 2024-05-31. After former President Donald Trump was found guilty in his Manhattan criminal trial Thursday, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign applauded the unanimous verdict._  by [Rebecca Schneid](https://time.com/author/rebecca-schneid/)  ## Rebecca Schneid Reporter Jun 1, 2024 4:10 PM UTC  President Joe Biden reacted when asked about Donald Trump assigning blame to him over the hush-money trial conviction. President Joe Biden reacted when asked about Donald Trump assigning blame to him over the hush-money trial conviction. Biden: Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images, Trump: Andrea Renault—Getty Images  by [Rebecca Schneid](https://time.com/author/rebecca-schneid/)  ## Rebecca Schneid Reporter Jun 1, 2024 4:10 PM UTC As President Joe Biden started walking out of the press room on Friday afternoon, after finishing a speech outlining a cease-fire plan for the [Israel-Hamas war](https://time.com/tag/israel-hamas-war/), a journalist called out, questioning him on former President Donald Trump’s historic hush-money trial conviction. “Donald Trump refers to himself as a ‘political prisoner’ and blames you \[Biden\] directly. What’s your response to that, sir?” the person enquired. Biden stopped, turned around, and reacted by smiling widely, seemingly amused by the question or the topic at hand. The journalists continued to ask for the President’s thoughts. “Do you think the conviction will have an impact on the campaign?” was another query put forward. But without answering any questions, Biden proceeded to walk out of the room. The moment is receiving much social media attention, as the public continues to digest Trump's conviction of 34 charges in a plot to illegally influence the 2016 election by falsifying documents that showed hush-money paid to Stormy Daniels, a former porn actor, who claims the two had sex. Earlier in the day on Friday, Trump made a statement from Trump Tower in New York, speaking for over 30 minutes, and insisting that the verdict was “rigged” and driven by politics. Throughout his speech, he verbally attacked the judge, the witnesses, and called President Biden “a very big danger to our country.” Meanwhile, on Thursday, immediately after leaving court, [Trump outwardly blamed the Biden Administration](https://twitter.com/SkyNews/status/1796291315753201842). "The real verdict is going to be November 5 by the people," he said. "This was done by the Biden Administration in order to wound or hurt a political opponent, and I think it’s just a disgrace.” President Biden reacted to the verdict and Trump’s words directly in his own speech, before discussing the Israel-Hamas war cease-fire plan. He reified that this was a state case, including local representation, rather than a federal case that could be influenced by the Justice Department and those under his presidential purview. Biden also defended the jurors as citizens, not unlike those watching, and said that Trump had every opportunity to defend himself over the five weeks that evidence was shown. “It’s reckless, it’s dangerous, it’s irresponsible for anyone to say this is ‘rigged’ just because they don’t like the verdict,” Biden said. On June 27, Biden and Trump are set to meet in their [first debate for the 2024 election ](https://time.com/6978462/presidential-debates-2024-date-time/)cycle. Soon after, on July 11, Trump is set to return to court for sentencing, where he could face penalties ranging from heavy fines to prison time. ## Transcript Good afternoon. Before I begin my remarks, I just want to say a few words about what happened yesterday in New York City. The American principle that no one is above the law was reaffirmed. Donald Trump was given every opportunity to defend himself. It was a state case, not a federal case, and it was heard by a jury of 12 citizens, 12 Americans, 12 people like you. Like millions of Americans who served on juries. This jury has chosen the same way every jury in America has chosen. It was a process that Donald Trump's attorney was part of. The jury heard five weeks of evidence, five weeks. And after careful deliberation, the jury reached a unanimous verdict. They found Donald Trump guilty on all 34 felony counts. Now he would be given the opportunity as he should to appeal that decision just like everyone else has that opportunity. That's how the American System of Justice works. And it's reckless. It's dangerous, and it's irresponsible for anyone to say this was rigged, just because they don't like the verdict. Our justice system has endured for nearly 250 years. And it literally is the cornerstone of America. Our justice system. The system should be respected, and we should never allow anyone to tear it down. It's as simple as that. That's America. That's who we are. 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