Donald Trump repeatedly quoted an exclusive DailyMail.com poll during his first press conference since his guilty verdict.
The poll showed him with a six-point boost among voters in the hours after he was convicted in his historic hush-money trial.
Trump said, “This is bigger than Trump, and bigger than me, and bigger than my presidency.
‘And people understand, because I just saw that a poll has come out – The Daily Mail. The first one came out, done last night right after the verdict, where I’m six points ahead.
‘Six points away from where we already were. We had a pretty big lead. We are six points higher in the Daily Mail poll.”
He added: “Maybe other polls will come out and say something different. But many people predicted it. The audience understands what is going on. This is a scam. This is a rigged process.”
Former United States President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a press conference after being found guilty of hush money charges at Trump Tower in New York City on May 31, 2024
Guilty verdict gives Donald Trump a SIX POINT increase in approval ratings according to Daily Mail snap poll
Later, Trump added, “The other thing is a poll came out. The first poll. Maybe others will be bad. But the survey just appeared in The Daily Mail a while ago.
‘Has anyone read The Daily Mail? They have a good poll. I like it today. The Daily Mail just came out with a poll and it says Trump is up six points in the last twelve hours. Six points since this happened.”
Trump returned to the campaign trail with a news conference at Trump Tower in Manhattan, in the same atrium where he descended the golden escalator to announce his 2016 campaign.
He spoke a day after becoming the first former US president to be convicted in a criminal trial.
At his press conference, he criticized Judge Juan Merchan, who presided over the case.
He said, “You saw what happened to some of the witnesses who were on our side.
“They were literally crucified by this man who looks like an angel but is actually a devil.
‘He looks so beautiful and soft. People say he seems like such a nice guy. Unless you’ve seen it in action.’
Former President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference at Trump Tower, Friday, May 31, 2024, in New York
Crowds gather in front of Trump Tower ahead of a press conference by former US President Donald Trump on May 31, 2024 in New York City
Protesters hold signs outside Trump Tower in New York City, on May 31, 2024, before former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump holds a press conference
Trump was convicted on Thursday of 34 counts of falsifying company records.
A jury found he did this in an attempt to illegally influence the 2016 election by concealing a $130,000 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.
She claimed to have had a sexual encounter with Trump a decade earlier, which he denied.
The 34 charges each carry a possible maximum penalty of up to four years in prison.
Trump will be sentenced by Judge Merchan on July 11, just four days before the Republican National Convention.
He could face penalties ranging from jail time to a fine or probation.
A Trump-themed flag is raised by supporters across the street from Trump Tower before former US president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump holds a press conference
Republican presidential candidate and former US President Donald Trump reacts as the verdict is read in his criminal trial
Margo Martin, Donald Trump’s deputy communications chief, who was present in court during the trial
At his press conference, Trump added: “If they can do this to me, they can do this to anyone. They are bad people, in many cases I believe sick people.
“We have a president and a group of fascists who don’t want to do anything about it. They want to raise your taxes four times. They want to prevent you from having cars.
He also denounced the “nasty silence order” the judge imposed on him, saying it came from Joe Biden.
He said, “I’m the lead person for president and I’m under a gag order from a man who can’t put two sentences together. This is all being done by Biden and his people. This is being done by Washington.”
Despite the gag order. barring him from criticizing trial witnesses, Trump labeled key prosecution witness Michael Cohen a “sleazebag.”
Stormy Daniels, the porn star at the center of the case
Former Playboy playmate Karen McDougal, who also starred in the business
His son Eric Trump and daughter-in-law Lara Trump joined him at the press conference.
But his wife, former First Lady Melania Trump, who has remained publicly silent since the verdict, was not there.
Outside, on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue, supporters gathered across the street with a giant red “TRUMP OR DEATH” sign.
Former President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a news conference at Trump Tower, Friday, May 31, 2024, in New York
Republican presidential candidate and son of former US President Donald Trump, Eric Trump, and daughter-in-law Lara Trump listen as he speaks during a press conference
The former president claims the case against him was orchestrated by his Democratic successor to keep him out of the White House.
Trump spokesman Jason Miller said: “There is no one more challenging. He’s ready to go out there and fight again.”
On Friday morning, Trump’s campaign announced it had raised $34.8 million as donations poured in after the verdict.
That amounted to more than $1 million for each crime for which he was convicted.
It was also more than his political operation in January and February combined.
Trump campaign spokesman Brian Hughes called the outpouring a sign “that Americans have seen this sham trial as the political election interference that Biden and the Democrats always intended.”
‘November 5 is the day the Americans will deliver the real verdict!’
Trump and his campaign had been preparing for days for a guilty verdict, even as they hoped for a hung jury.
On Tuesday, Trump said even Mother Teresa couldn’t beat the “rigged” case.