Good Question: Can Donald Trump still run for president after being arraigned?
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ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Can former president Donald Trump still run for president now that he’s charged with 34 felony counts? A Nazareth College professor explains.
For the first time in American history, a former president is criminally charged. He pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to falsifying business records. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said Trump tried to hide hush money payments to two women during his 2016 presidential campaign.
Tim Kneeland, a professor of history and political science at Nazareth College, said that when it comes to Trump’s run for president, “these are uncharted political constitutional waters.” However, Trump can still run for president.
News10NBC’s Emily Putnam: “What do those charges mean for his presidential campaign going forward?”
Kneeland: “Believe it or not, the charges do not in any way shape or form affect his presidential campaign”
Constitutionally, the charges can’t stop him from running. A conviction wouldn’t change anything either.
Kneeland: “He, I suppose, could even be elected president from his jail cell. So, that’s what’s really striking about all this, is the constitution does not preclude people who have been convicted of being president.”
A former president accused as a criminal is a first for our country. A presidential nominee facing criminal charges is not.
Kneeland: “We’ve actually had people in prison running for president. Eugene Debbs did it back in the day. So that’s not a hindrance to running for president.”
Trump is due back in court in December and the trial is expected to begin in early 2024. Kneeland explains what happens if he wins the Republican nomination, wins the election, and is then convicted.
Kneeland: “Then he could be impeached and removed from office for high crimes and misdemeanors.”
Trump was impeached twice while he was in office and that did not appear to deter his supporters. In the days following Trump’s indictment, his presidential campaign says it raised more than $7 million.