Rep. Adam Schiff said President Biden should be “leaning” into the conviction of former President Donald Trump as the presidential race forges on.
“I think for the president, there’s a time and a place for each argument. I think on the day of the conviction that day thereafter, I can understand the president staying above the fray and demonstrating his respect and expressing his respect for the jury system,” the California Democrat said on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday. “But I think the president should be leaning into this going forward. His competitor is a convicted felon.”
Mr. Schiff, who is running for the Senate, made the argument that if the situation was reversed, “they would be going after Joe Biden with a vengeance.”
“They’re making those false claims about Joe Biden, regardless. So I think not only the president, but Democrats need to be making the case forcefully to American people,” he said.
The presumptive Republican nominee was found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records Thursday in connection to hush money payments made to porn actress Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election. He is the first former president to become a convicted felon.
“You don’t want a convicted felon in the Oval Office. You want the country to run properly. You don’t want a convicted felon to turn the Oval Office and the federal government into some kind of a racketeering operation,” he said. “I think that’s a powerful case to make and certainly one supported by the verdict here.”
Mr. Biden has already started to fundraise off of Mr. Trump’s conviction. Just hours after the jury’s verdict was announced, Mr. Biden’s X page linked to a fundraising page.
“There’s only one way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office: At the ballot box,” the post said. “Donate to our campaign today.”
Mr. Biden and his reelection campaign were fairly quiet while Mr. Trump’s hush money trial went on. On one of the final days of the trial however, the campaign enlisted actor Robert De Niro and two police officers from the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol to speak outside of the Manhattan courtroom on why Mr. Trump is not fit to be president once again.
The president himself said Friday that Mr. Trump’s claim that the case was biased is “reckless [and] dangerous.”
“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 literally is the cornerstone of America,” Mr. Biden said Friday.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.