Days after his re-election campaign staged a bizarre event with Robert De Niro and January 6 cops outside the Manhattan courthouse Donald Trump was being tried in, President Joe Biden addressed the conviction of his 2020 and 2024 challenger from the White House.
The commander in chief acknowledged that Trump is entitled to an appeal, but he chastised the “reckless,” “dangerous,” and “irresponsible” behavior of the presumptive GOP nominee for calling the case “rigged.”
On Friday’s show, Megyn was joined by attorneys Dave Aronberg, Mike Davis, and Phil Holloway to discuss the president’s remarks and the politicization of the legal process.
Biden Speaks
Biden spent a rare Friday at the White House to celebrate the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl victory, and he also found time to address the first conviction of a former U.S. president in history. “Our current president decided to weigh in on this from the White House, which was ill advised in my view,” Megyn said. “Just stop. You represent us all when you are in that house and when you are the president.”
Here’s a bit of what he had to say:
BIDEN: 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 was chosen the same way every jury in America is chosen in a process Donald Trump’s attorney was a 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 will 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, 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 is a cornerstone of America, our justice system. The justice system should be respected. We should never allow anyone to tear it down.
And yet, Megyn said, the Biden administration has failed on that very point. “That’s exactly what he did,” she shared. “This president in the federal cases and these two state prosecutors… with Fani Willis [in Georgia] and Alan Bragg [in New York].”
Playing Politics
Megyn noted that she has been around long enough to remember when it would not have been appropriate for a sitting president to chime in on a political case, to which Aronberg, who is a Democrat, said that time has passed.
In his view, such politicization has become the norm. “I think we are way past that point. I mean, Donald Trump called for his opponent to be locked up… This has been going on for a while,” he said. “So, I don’t take umbrage at Biden talking about it… If he continues to do so from the White House, then I’d have more of a problem. But I don’t have a problem with him just making a reaction statement the next day.”
Holloway said it is disingenuous for Biden or anyone else to tell Americans how to feel about the verdict. “Guess what, Mr. President, we didn’t have to wait for the verdict to know it was rigged because we watched it in real time being rigged day after day after day,” he said. “It’s reprehensible for Joe Biden to stand there and tell me that I’ve got to take this and I’ve got to respect it. I don’t have to respect any jury verdict when it is built upon a card of lies.”
Ultimately, Davis does not see this ‘lawfare’ benefitting Biden and Democrats long term. “I am getting inundated with phone calls, text messages, DMs, emails, and donations to The Article III Projects when we are not even soliciting donations on this matter,” he concluded. “These aren’t my fellow Trump supporters. These are people who are… don’t like Trump, but they are all in now because they saw what happened with this trial.”
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Aronberg, Davis, and Holloway by tuning in to episode 807 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.