This week, we asked readers their thoughts on a Manhattan court jury finding former U.S. President Donald J. Trump guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

 

“Trump cheated on his taxes and there were so many charges against him. Yet, it’s taken the forever to put him behind bars which, if it would have been one of us, a citizen, we would have been put in jail a long time ago. Why was the Justice Department taking its sweet time to convict him? He’s going for sentencing, yes, but he should do time in jail like everyone else. He’s no longer the president.”

Armando Flores

Connecticut resident visiting Parkchester

“To me, they’re all the same, just different faces and they’re going to take care of their own. I work for mine and my mother showed me that but to me, once they get into office, it’s all the same. They promise you things that never change. They’re all pretty much getting away with stuff because they have their accountants. Most people don’t have that. People say he didn’t do anything. He did something but there’s people who do worse. Rich and powerful people get to do what they want.”

M. Guadalupe

Bedford Park

“I see how so many people are following him (Donald Trump) for his eccentric personality even though he was found guilty. He can possibly go from jail to the White House. It could happen.”

Rolando Peralta,

Morris Park

“I love Donald Trump. He gave me money; he did nothing wrong.”

Anna Smith,

Morris Park

“Being found guilty of something, you still have the option of appealing your case. He still has the option of going all the way to the Supreme Court, so it’s a matter of allowing the judicial system to take its course, and after the judicial system takes its course, you can then seek other remedies as well. As far as Mr. Trump is concerned, he, like any other American, has the opportunity to seek the best legal advice. But clearly, we all see that something needs to be done.”

Norman Jones,

Van Nest

 

Editor’s Note: In a story dated Oct. 2, 2018, The New York Times reported that former U.S. President Donald Trump had long sold himself as a self-made billionaire, but the Times investigation found that he received at least $413 million in today’s dollars from his father’s real estate empire, much of it through tax dodges in the 1990s.