Can Donald Trump still stand for President? And could he go to jail? Hush money verdict explained

30 May 2024, 23:49 | Updated: 31 May 2024, 01:29

Could Donald Trump go to jail?
Could Donald Trump go to jail? Picture: Getty
Kieran Kelly

By Kieran Kelly

Donald Trump has been found guilty on all 34 counts in an historic hush money trial involving the porn star Stormy Daniels - so what next?

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Trump will be sentenced on July 11 at 10am, around six weeks from now.

So could Trump actually go to prison? And will he still be able to run for President?

Is Trump still eligible to run for President?

Donald Trump following his guilty verdicts
Donald Trump following his guilty verdicts. Picture: Getty

In short, Trump remains eligible to run for the White House for a third time, despite today's guilty verdicts.

According to the Constitution, you must be at least 35 years old to run for President, be a “natural born” US citizen and have lived in the US for at least 14 years.

There's no mention of blocking Americans with criminal records, meaning Trump can stand.

In fact, Trump could still run for President - and even be President - if he goes to jail.

Clearly Trump knows this. In fact, he has already used the guilty verdicts to fuel his campaign.

Speaking outside the court, Trump labelled the trial "rigged" and "disgraceful".

"This was done by the Biden administration in order to wound or hurt an opponent, a political opponent," he said.

"We’ll keep fighting, we’ll fight to the end and we’ll win," he added.

Will Donald Trump go to jail?

Former President Donald J. Trump arrested and booked at the Fulton County (GA) Jail
Former President Donald J. Trump arrested and booked at the Fulton County (GA) Jail. Picture: Alamy

As we said before, after today's guilty verdicts, Trump will be sentenced on July 11 at 10am.

Experts across the US have suggested that while it's possible, it remains unlikely that Trump will do any jail time for this crime.

NBC News reported that an analysis of thousands of similar cases found that it is rare that people charged with the same crime go to jail.

Chuck Rosenberg, an NBC News analyst, also said it is unlikely he will go to jail due to his age and his lack of criminal record.

“I’d be very surprised if there's any sentence of incarceration at all," Rosenberg said. “Of course, he did spend a good bit of time insulting the judge who has the authority to incarcerate him.

When is the US election?

Donald Trump
Donald Trump. Picture: Getty

The US election will take place on Tuesday 5 November 2024.

It will be a rematch between Trump and the current US President, Joe Biden.

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