amna: good evening. i'm amna nawaz. geoff: and i'm geoff bennett.l on the "newshour" tonight, reaction and analysis of the historic guilty verdict in donald trump's criminal hush money trial, as the former president rails against his conviction. pres. trump: if they can do it to me, they can do it to anyone.

these are bad people. these are, in many cases i believe, sick people. amna: president biden calls on hamas to accept israel's latest ceasefire proposal. geoff: a preview of mexico's election, after a violent and polarized campaign season comes to a close. ♪ >> by the ongoing support of these institutions and individuals. and friends of the newshour, including jim and nancy milner, and the robert and virginia schiller foundation. the cobbler foundation. upholding freedom by strengthening democracies at home and abroad. >> cunard is a proud supporter of public television. on a voyage with cunard, the world awaits.

a world of diverse destinations and immersive experiences. a world ofall with cunard's rig- white star service. >> the john s and james l knight foundation, fostering an and engaged communities. more at kf.org. and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. and friends of the newshour. this program was made possible

by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions from your pbs station by viewers like you. thank you. geoff: the fallout continued today after the historic conviction of donald trump. >> former president and current president both spoke out about the verdict as the two men gear up for a rematch in november. as lisa desjardins reports, the republican party was quick to line up behind its presumptive nominee. pres. trump: this is a scam. this is a rigged trial. lisa: from former president donald trump, a 40 minute speech of defiance, a day after being convicted of 34 felony charges of falsifying business records. pres. trump: we should not have had that judge. lisa: at trump tower, the republican repeated grievances

against the judge and district attorney involved in the case. and he pushed at the boundaries of a gag order by blasting his former attorney and fixer michael cohen, though not by name. pres. trump: he is a sleaze bag. everybody knows that. lisa: the presumptive republican presidential nominee asserted his case was treated differently than any other, and he once again blamed the biden administration, with no direct evidence and without acknowledging his team helped select the new york jury that unanimously convicted him. president biden reacted to the verdict, saying no one is above the law. pres. biden: it is irresponsible for anyone to say it is rigged just because they don't like the verdict. lisa: as trump plans his appeal, his base spoke in dollars. his campaign said they raised nearly $35 million in the hours after the verdict, at one point crashing the website. >> i think they elected the

president last night. lisa: the parade of republican officials who had supported trump in the courtroom during the trial blasted the outcome. house speaker mike johnson issued an unusual direct plea to the nation's high court. speaker johnson: i do believe the supreme court should step in, obviously this is totally unprecedented and is dangerous to our system. lisa: but another prominent republican, former maryland governor larry hogan, wrote on social media, i urge all americans to respect the verdict. in just over an hour, trump's senior advisor responded sharply, you just to dig your campaign, a side -- he just ended your campaign, a sign of the risk and retaliation facing those who break with trump. democrats including maryland congressman jamie raskin, largely focused on rule of law. now, even as a convicted felon, mr. trump's presidential campaign continues. the constitution has no restrictions on his right to run. and as a florida resident, he can vote in november as long as he stays out of prison. but, if he were elected, trump could not pardon himself, as these are state, and not

federal, crimes. the sentencing is scheduled for july 11, the week before he officially accepts the republican nomination for president. for the pbs newshour, i'm lisa desjardins. for more on the political fallout of trump's guilty conviction, laura barron lopez heard from republican voters about how this impacts their thoughts on the former president and the upcoming election. laura, good to see you. so you watched this focus ring today with a group of voters the day after that guilty verdict. how were they reacting? laura: these were voters who voted for donald trump twice. they were slightly already a little souring on him, but some of them could have gone back to him. it was conducted by a group run by republican strategist sarah longwell. after this verdict, they said about six of those voters said that the fact that these were felony -- were felonies that

trump was convicted of carried more weight for them than if they had been misdemeanors. out of those nine voters, five of them said it made them less likely to support donald trump, including 52-year-old michelle from florida. >> i am tired of the lies and the nonsense. i believed the testimony. that is why i am happy that the jury found him guilty. i think now that he is a convicted felon, he is unfit. he cannot pass a basic security clearance at this point. i am not sure if you can vote in florida. -- if he can vote in florida. he may not be allowed to go to different countries as a felon. this is not appropriate. knock, republicans. find somebody else. amna: that voter had voted for republicans her entire life. voted for trump twice. but this verdict carried a lot of weight with her and a number of the other voters.

some of them raised january 6 as something that had started to convince them that they maybe could not vote for trump again.s likely to vote for him as a result of the verdict. was anybody pushed closer to him? >> one out of the nine voters said this verdict made him more likely to support donald trump. that is mark, 54, from georgia. he called it a sham trial. >> it was a double standard. it was a politicized prosecution. it was the elevation of misdemeanors and felonies just for political purposes. >> the voters were also asked whether or not this verdict made them trust the justices more or less or it did not change their mind.

three of them said that it made him trust the justice system more. most of them said it did not change how they viewed the system. mark, who we just heard from from georgia, said it made him not trust the justice system as much. as to whether or not they thought donald trump should go to jail, valerie, 64, also from georgia, had a very strong response to that. >> he should serve jail time. pay the penalty for the crime. we know they will negotiate and renegotiate. he will not serve any time. but he will get more time on television. right here at election time. laura: at the end of the day, they were asked, if you had to pick between president biden and donald trump, who would you pick come november? roughly six of them said they would vote for joe biden. one, mark, who we heard from, said he would vote for trump, and one to two of them were basically unsure and said that

they may not vote. >> fascinating. mr. trump continued his attack on the judge in this case. in the last 24 hours, we have now seen republicans relentlessly attacking the judge, the judge's daughter, the judicial system. what is the impact of all of that? >> a lot of republicans in addition to donald trump have said that they are trying to show that they directly attacked the judge in this case. i was working with an investigative group that tracks social media. they gave us data they have been gathering. they were tracking social media. they found in increasing calls -- increase in calls for violence and violent rhetoric. they also found an increase in calls to dox jurors and the judges. here are some examples.

on telegram, one posted "hang the judge for corruption. on another website, they said someone in new york with nothing to lose needs to take care of the judge. hopefully he gets met with a machete. another one posted that we need the judge's address along with his daughter's. we will be peacefully protesting but ultimately gloves are off. that is a website that is used by the proud boys, who were at january 6. overall there has been an increase in calls for violence and doxing. it appears one years there -- one user may have actually doxxe d a juror, but they are still trying to confirm that. >> great reporting as always. thank you so much. ♪

geoff: president biden today detailed a proposal that would release israeli hostages in gaza in exchange for a cease-fire. the president called on hamas to accept the deal and said it would lead to the end of the war. pres. biden: it is time to begin this new stage. for the hostages to come home. for israel be secure. for the suffering stop. it is time for this war to end. for the day after to begin. >> our foreign affairs correspondent is following this. he joins us now. nick, what is in this latest proposal? >> this is an israeli proposal. president biden unveiled it for the first time in a speech today and it is split into three phases. phase one would last six weeks in which israel would cease fire. hamas would release hostages,

and israel what it -- would release at least 700 palestinian detainees, including those convicted of terrorism. israel would allow the surge of humanitarian aid. finally, israel would withdraw from cities. also, the cessation of hostilities permanently. that is what president biden today called the end of the war. as the president put it, is really forces would withdraw from gaza. i want to focus on this fourth point. the cease-fire will continue as long as negotiations continue. that is the main aspect of this proposal. it might seem small, but it is significant. in the past, israel was threatening to restart the war after the first six weeks. now israel is promising to hold fire beyond phase i, beyond six weeks, as long as hamas continues negotiations.

if the two sides were to get that far, phase 3 would be the return of hostages who died under hamas custody and a three to five year reconstruction of gaza with a demilitarized hamas. that is when you get the bigger goals. hezbollah moving back from the lebanese border. perhaps even israeli-saudi normalization. >> how have they responded to this? >> positively, although with some ambiguity and definitely interpreting the president's words as they want to see them. hamas confirms its readiness to deal positively and in a constructive manner with any proposal constructed on full cease-fire, permanent withdrawal, the return of the displaced, and a genuine prisoner swap. that first statement, hamas sees this as the end of the war. israel's response came from benjamin netanyahu.

he said that the proposal would enable israel to continue the war until all its objectives are achieved, including bit instruction of hamas's military and governing capabilities. -- including the destruction of hamas's military and governing capabilities. he also called the transition from phase one to phase two conditional, leaving the possibility of the war continuing. israel gets to decide and only israel gets to decide whether we moved from a temporary cease-fire to a permanent cease-fire. president biden implicitly rebutted that argument today. he said for the first time that israel had degraded hamas to the point where it could not launch another october 7 attack. that is not intelligence made public today. u.s. officials have been worried about netanyahu not having a plan for the day after. as president biden put it today, pursuing indefinite war in a notion of total victory.

president biden said if you do that, you will bog israel down, bog yourself down, and further isolate yourself. that is why analysts were telling me it is not just an attempt to pressure hamas. it is an attempt to pressure the israeli government to follow through on its own proposal and actually see it through. netanyahu will have his say in washington soon. he has been invited to give a joint statement to congress. geoff: nick schifrin, thanks to you for that great reporting. nick: thank you. ♪ vanessa: i'm vanessa ruiz with newshour west. here are the latest headlines. germany has given ukraine the green light to use long-range weapons supplied by berlin on targets inside russia. the biden administration gave a similar approval yesterday. in both instances, the use of

the weapons is limited to defending against attacks on the border region of kharkiv. volodymyr zelenskyy was in stockholm today concluding a long-term security agreement with sweden and norway. he has now signed such deals with 15 western nations. antony blinken today said the upcoming nato summit will bring more western support as well as a path to membership in the alliance. >> our purpose now is to put in place the bridge to bring ukraine closer to and then ultimately into nato. it is a bridge that i think you will see emerge at the summit. that is both strong and very well lit.

vanessa: against the backdrop of diplomacy, there was a moment of relief on the frontlines today as russia and ukraine took part in a prisoner exchange. 75 russians and 75 ukrainians were involved in the swap. a passing of note today, marian robinson, the mother of michelle obama, has passed away. she was a fixture in the obama white house. she moved from chicago to washington with the obamas to help with her young granddaughters. the family said in a statement that she passed peacefully this morning and right now none of us are quite sure how we will move on without her. marian robinson was 86 years old. senator joe manchin of west virginia has registered as an independent. the long term democrat has long flirted with leaving a party that he thinks is too liberal. manchin cited his dedication to putting country before party as a reason for the switch. sen. manchin: my commitment to my great country has been doing everything i can to make sure we can survive as a representative form of democracy. a government we have that the people are in control of.

not the party systems. for me to be able to fulfill that, i have changed my registration to no party affiliation. vanessa: he said in november that he would not seek reelection, but the move today traces questions about his political aspirations. the texas supreme court has rejected a challenge to restrict the abortion ban. women had filed a lawsuit seeking clarity on cases when a mother's life is in danger. in a decision, the court said it is permitted if the mother has a life-threatening condition. but refused to specify further. critics say the confusion means that most doctors will not risk performing an abortion, facing fines and jail time if they do. in florida, a share's deputy who shot and killed a black air force --

eddie do iran fired without warning when the deputy opened the door with a legally owned handgun pointed at the ground. the sheriff's office said the deputy's life was not in danger and he was not justified to fire his weapon. vermont has become the first state to require oil companies to pay for damage related to climate change. this comes after widespread flooding soaked for months capital. -- soaked vermont's capital. the new law would assess the impacts of climate change on matters like public health and economic development and -- maryland, massachusetts, and new york are considering similar legislation. the kansas city chiefs visited the white house today to celebrate their second straight super bowl win. president biden put on a helmet as he congratulated the team,

saying he likes the idea of winning back to back. he shook team members hands. still to come, as a deadly heat wave grips much of india, a look at why temperatures are reaching record highs. and david brooks and jonathan capehart break down the latest political headlines. ♪ >> this is the pbs newshour. from weta studios in washington and from the west at the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. amna: india is one of the hottest places on the planet. much of this past month has been brutal. but south asia is hardly the only place suffering extreme heat. it is still made, but temperatures are abnormally high in some parts of the u.s., mexico, and elsewhere. william brangham has the latest.

william: temperatures in india's capital, new delhi, reached 122 degrees fahrenheit this week. it is driving reports of heat related deaths and illnesses across the country. at night, temperatures are still well over 90 degrees. at the same time, new delhi is also dealing with a water shortage. residents are struggling day today. >> i keep myself hydrated. i protect my head with a piece of cloth. otherwise it is too hot out here. because of heat, are conditions have gone from bad to worse. there is no relief even from shade sometimes. i have to drink six liters of water every day in the afternoon. william: in mexico, where there is a drought as well, howler monkeys have been dying off in 100 degree plus heat. miami just recorded its hottest may on record, with temperatures

in the 90's and the heat index approaching 110. they are expecting triple digits in phoenix this weekend. to help us understand more about what is driving this, we are joined by the director of climate science at climate central. thank you so much for being here. first off, what is driving this? is this as simple as global climate change that as we continue to warm the planet and the atmosphere that we see more of these extreme events? >> to a first approximation, that is exactly right. we are on a warming planet because we have too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. one of the most obvious signs of that is we see these extreme events popping up all over the world. especially as you look at the number and the fact that they are occurring simultaneously in so many places, that is a clear signal that we are living on a planet that has been altered by people. >> what do you say to the devil's advocate who says it is almost the cusp of summer, it is naturally warmer in the summer. of course we will see some

spikes in temperatures. this is not that unusual. >> i would say this is quite unusual. that is what the data and the science suggests. we can talk about any one of these places and it will have hot weather. and it will have hot weather in the past. but in the conditions you are seeing in india, these cannot occur without climate change. the pervasive heat you talked about in mexico almost certainly could not exist without climate change. it is also the severity, but it is in some ways when it occurs. the season heat is a sign of climate change. and the duration. how pervasive the heat is. >> are there other factors beyond climate change that could be driving this? >> you have natural weather variability. in terms of wearing heatwave sets up. things like el niño are going to

drive the patterns, like the blobs of heat and how they move around the planet. but the fact that we are seeing so many of these events taking place all over the world at the same time is a very strong indication that climate change is behind this. >> your organization just put out a study looking at the increase in extreme heat events globally. can you tell a little bit about what that study found? >> we focused on days that anybody at that location would find hot for that location. so it is going to be a hotter temperature in phoenix than it is in boston. but we looked around the world and we found climate change added for the average person on planet earth 26 extra days of extreme heat. it is an incredible burden that we are putting on people around the planet. it is even higher if you move the places like central america, northern africa, and places in southeast asia. >> as you are indicating and

as your report touches on, extreme heat does not fall proportionally on all members of society. can you talk a little bit about the people who suffered the most when the temperature goes way up? >> the people who suffer the most are the people who are already vulnerable for one reason or another. it could be because they are very old or very young or have some sort of underlying health condition. that could be pregnancy. people who are pregnant are very vulnerable to heat. you add in these social vulnerabilities. if you're homeless and living on the street, you will be highly vulnerable. that is what folks see in phoenix. i believe it was 80% of the deaths came from their unhoused population. people who are abusing drugs will be more susceptible. any of these social vulnerabilities will magnify the potential for a bad outcome.

william: are there things that -- we know that cutting the emissions of greenhouse gases is the number one way we can tackle climate change globally. but on a local level, are the things people can do or governments can do to protect those most vulnerable when the temperature soars? >> absolutely. one of the unique things about heat relative to other climate events is there is a lot we can do to keep people safe. individually, you can take care of yourself, drink water, understand where your options are to keep cool. keep an eye on your friends and neighbors. for things like cities, systems that can get the most vulnerable into cooling centers. things you can do like planting trees and lighting the surface of a city to reflect radiation into space, those can help keep

the environment cool. william: thank you so much for being here. >> thanks for having me. ♪ geoff: as many as 100 million mexicans go to the polls on sunday to elect a new president. it is already guaranteed to be historic. both leading candidates are women, and country has never had a female leader. the main issues are security, migration, and the economy. but as nick schifrin reports, the leading candidate represents multiple firsts. of caution, this story contains images and accounts of violence. reporter: never before has mexico had a woman, the granddaughter of jewish immigrants and a nobel

prize-winning climate scientists as president. but claudia calls herself a disciplined defender of mexico's future. >> we will have an honest government without corruption or impunity. we will not submit to any economic or foreign power, no matter how powerful it may be. reporter: running a distant second is former senator galvez who leads the opposition coalition. she has questioned whether claudia is a protege or will be a puppet of the current president. >> the transition initiated by president andres manuel lopez obrador is not going backwards. >> the big question mark surrounding a possible sheinbaum administration is what role andres manuel lopez obrador is going to play, if any, and whether she's going to really make a mark of her own. reporter: lila abed is acting director of the mexican institute at the wilson center. >> she can't completely distance herself from the political platform, from the government

plan that got amlo into power and that has sustained high levels of approval rates. and that is what she's running on. she is not running necessarily on a new political platform. she's building on what amlo has achieved. but voters' single most important issue might be what lopez obrador has failed to achieve -- security. a mexican security firm says more than 700 people connected to the election have been threatened, kidnapped, or murdered. 34 candidates were killed between september and may. much of the violence unleashed by cartels that fight for lucrative trafficking routes. and the most violent states, guerrero, puebla, and chiapas. in chiapas, candidates have been running for office, and from the gangs. earlier this year diego perez, a mayoral candidate in san juan cancuc, was found dead, dumped in a ditch, with signs of torture.

and this month, 28-year-old lucero lopez, a mayoral candidate in la concordia, was shot to death at a campaign rally. >> it's hard. we need to be able to walk in our streets with security, with freedom. reporter: linda higuera is running to head the county administration in san cristobal. she is a member of the green party, aligned with president lopez obrador. earlier this month, assailants attacked her campaign car after she participated in an lgbtq event. >> they were screaming homophobic words, hateful words, intimidating messages against me, saying you're not going to succeed, you're a woman. as a woman, you feel unprotected. you're in an environment where you feel persecuted, they destroy your van, and there are no consequences. reporter: in a violent state, ballots are guarded by soldiers. >> but in some areas, armed groups blocked election workers from creating polling stations. and in the indigenous town of pantelho, 500 people fled for fear of violence, and the election won't even be held. claudia rodriguez is the chiapas

executive director of the national electoral institute. >> obviously, it's because of the fear they have. some political actors have told us they don't want elections to take place. it's difficult, and we as an institution support peaceful elections. but we cannot enter a community by force to elect a representative. reporter: chiapas' green party, and linda higuera, believe claudia sheinbaum can bring security. >> i am sure she will be a great ally for all the women who need that support, that protection, so that we're no longer intimidated. reporter: but opposition candidate xochitl galvez calls lopez obrador's security policy, known as hugs not bullets, a failure. >> is security today better than ever? of course not. 186,000 people were murdered, and 50,000 people disappeared. that is the result of a security strategy where the hugs have been for the criminals and the bullets for the citizens.

reporter: sheinbaum's new solutions are a national intelligence agency and investments for young mexicans vulnerable to organized crime. >> at the same time, she wants to continue consolidating the national guard wants to make sure it falls under the ministry of defense. and so she would, in essence, continue what many have called the militarization of previous civilian forces in mexico. and there's a lot of concern because the military is not necessarily trained on protecting human rights and making sure that when they are dealing with these new responsibilities, that they carry it out in a very responsible and legal manner. [00:13:45][14.2] the mexican government has also used the military to block migrants' travel north, lowering migrant crossings, in cooperation with the biden administration. but it's not clear if that is sustainable, and the election hasn't produced alternative solutions. >> as for claudia sheinbaum, at least she has said that she is going to ask the next u.s. president for funds to sustain the large amount of migrants that are now in mexican

territory. but more than that, there really is no comprehensive, detailed strategy or plan on behalf of one of the candidates or the other in terms of how they're going to deal with migration. reporter: and so the woman whose family escaped nazi persecution inherits major challenges throughout the country. but the glass ceiling won't be one of them. for the pbs newshour, i'm nick schifrin. ♪ amna: a new study this week adds to the growing body of evidence that girls in america are reaching puberty earlier, with potentially troubling implications for their long term health. more girls are getting their first periods sooner than previous generations and experiencing longer periods of menstrual irregularity as well.

we are joined by the senior author of that study. thank you for joining us. >> thank you. amna: let me go to some highlights. you found that girls are now getting their first period on the age of 12.5 between 1950 and 1969. that is down now to 11.9 years old. you also found the percentage of girls getting their period before the age of 11 almost doubled from about 8.5% to 15.5%. and the percentage of getting their period before the age of nine more than doubled. weiss is significant and worth paying attention to? -- why is this significant and worth paying attention to? >> the age of the first period and the time to cycle are two aspect of menstrual health. it is really important to understand this trend for a variety of reasons. one of the most important is these characteristics are

associated with a variety of long-term health consequences. for those with very early age of the first period or irregular periods, those risks include cardiovascular disease, infertility problems, mood disorders, and cancers, to name a few. amna: the big question is why we seeing this trend? what do we know about that? >> when we evaluated that exact question, we thought about how could body mass index around the age of the first period influence those. we found that about half of this trend could be explained by body mass index at menarche. when we looked at what else might be going on, controlling for body mass index, we saw an -- we noticed a trend towards decreasing age at the first period. there are a variety of concerns.

including exposure to environmental factors like hormone disrupting chemicals and stress and childhood trauma. those are some important things to consider. amna: there were some substantial differences along racial and socioeconomic lines. girls of color starting administration earlier relative to their white peers. what explains that? >> when we looked at the absolute difference comparing those of white race or ethnicity to other racial minorities, the white girls reduced that age of first period to about six months, and other groups had a reduction of almost a year. we think about race and ethnicity as a surrogate marker for exposure.

we are thinking about, what are the other exposures that myco very, from exposures related to personal care products to stress and racism. amna: it is worth pointing out that this study was based on self-reported data. it was through an app. over 70,000 women participated. what should we understand about the limitations of the data collected that way and what questions do you still have? >> there are many important limitations to consider about data collected by self-report. there are limitations regarding how we collect the data. participants had to have an iphone and download the research app and be comfortable communicating in english. we have to interpret all of this information in the context of the population recruited into the study. however, i think what we are

finding does allow a high level look into the trends across a vast time span of cohorts. we are very much interested in promoting awareness of this topic to allow for education providers and children. in terms of future research, looking into further impacts of environmental exposure is something i am very interested in. amna: a lot of parents will heal this and the -- will hear this and will be very worried and wonder what they can do to keep children safe and healthy. what would you say to that? >> if you notice early signs of puberty like breast development, coming into the pediatrician for evaluation is very important. in terms of what you can do to promote health and wellness around the menstrual cycle includes a diet of whole foods.

it is very hard in today's modern world to have a diet of no altered processed foods. but try to limit processed foods and fast foods as much as possible. bring in those leafy green vegetables, fruits. is really important. balancing physical activity and addressing circadian rhythms and sleep health is very important in promoting health in this age group. amna: that is the assistant professor at the harvard ta tran school of public health. thank you so much for joining us. we appreciate your time. >> take care. ♪ geoff: it was a week that saul donald trump become the first former american president to be convicted of a felony. we turn now to the analysis of brooks and capehart.

thank you so much for being here. i would like to begin by asking you both to reflect on the significance of this moment. a former and potentially future president found guilty on all 34 counts in this criminal hush money trial who, upon his sentencing on july 11, will officially become a convicted felon under new york state law. jonathan, you have the first word tonight. jonathan: yesterday was a surprising day just because at one moment we were told that the judge would let the jury go, and then the next minute we have a verdict. yesterday was a very solemn day. whether you like the guy or not, the idea, the fact that a former president of the u.s. was found guilty on all counts unanimously by a jury of his peers and that

same person is the presumptive nominee for president of the republican party, for the office, it was solemn. for where we are as a country, it was a solemn day. in the before times, he would no longer be the candidate. another more upright person reflective of the party and country would become the nominee. i know he is perfectly reflective of the party as it is now. but i am talking about the before time. i was elated because he is being held accountable. but at the same time i am a little crestfallen because of what it says about where the country is right now. geoff: somber and solemn. how does it strike you? david: i will go back to the before times. i was working at "the wall street journal," "the national review," a lot of conservative places.

there were pillars of conservatism. the first was moral character. character is destiny. if private virtue falls apart, the public order collapses. we should not forget the fact that this case was about a former president paying hush money to a porn star. the second is institutions and the power of institutions to safeguard society. there was a moment that some in the courtroom described when the jury asked the judge to read back some of the technical finery of the indictment and the law, apparently was very dry and technocratic language. and yet the members of the jury looked at the judge with wrapped reverence. i have always found that juries take their responsibilities very seriously. this is character and institutions. donald trump is a transgressor. the attack on the institutions

if he wins in the fall will not just be to the justice system. it will be to the defense department and the attorney general's office. it will be a comprehensive assault on american institutions. that is what is at stake. can the institutions hold? geoff: as we reported earlier the broadcast, donald trump spoke for more than 30 minutes to reporters, firing off grievances. he really tried to portray himself as a political martyr. this is been a theme central to his 2024 campaign. it would appear that this is an effective way to rally his supporters because the campaign says in less than 24 hours since the verdict came down, they have raised $34.8 million. that is half the entire amount they raised in all of april. how will this plate not just with his base but with independent voters and soft from -- soft trump supporters who could decide the election? jonathan: this is one of those

time will tell moments. we are just 24 hours from having this guilty verdict. we don't know how independence are going to respond, how those folks on the periphery of the republican party who don't like him but could potentially vote for him. $34.8 million, great, but what is he going to spend that money on? who are the people he's getting the money from? the other thing that is most fascinating -- i forgot to mention this in my first answer -- president nixon had something that donald trump does not have, and that is a sense of shame. richard nixon had enough sense of shame that he resigned the office rather than be impeached because he did not want the stain of impeachment. and yet donald trump has been impeached twice. and is running for president

again basically to keep himself, he hopes come out of prison, given the other cases coming down the road. geoff: david, picking up on that point, what does all of this reveal about donald trump and the space he occupies in american life and the degree to which he has shifted the center of our politics? david: he tells a story. the story is they are out to get you and the system is broken. that is a story a lot of people agree with and they think was vindicated yesterday. i was struck by my friends in the republican party, some were trump supporters and some were nikki haley types. i was struck by how vociferous their reaction was. the equivalent of january 6. they said this was today the justice system was perverted to launch a political attack. the fundamental institutions of society are at a threat. they are way more fired up than i anticipated. these are people from susan collins, a moderate republican from maine, over to the right.

the political effect of this is i suspect it will be marginal. the people who are supporting him will support him. they have discounted who he is. they buy that the system is out to get you, and this validates that for them. the people who are marginal, they tell pollsters they will reconsider their vote if donald trump is convicted, but those are people who do not pay a lot of attention to politics. they tend to be people who supported biden in 2020 and are now shifting over to trump. they are low information, fickle voters and we do not know how they will go. i don't suspect they will go very far. the basic question of the election is the system is broken, we need this guy, no matter how big of a jerk he is. we need him to take it to the man. i suspect they will stick around for him. geoff: after his appearances morning, president trump -- president biden delivered comments. he had this to say. pres. biden: they found donald

trump guilty on all 34 felony counts. now he will be given the opportunity to appeal that decision just like everyone else has that opportunity. that is how the american system of justice works. it is reckless. it is dangerous. it is irresponsible for anyone to say this was rigged just because they don't like the verdict. geoff: i was talking to a democratic operative today who said this is the time that the biden campaign should litigate the case against donald trump to say you may have concerns about inflation, but will you really vote for a convicted felon? do you think the campaign is doing enough? jonathan: the verdict has only been out for 24 hours. i am not yelling at you, i'm yelling at the democratic operative that you talked to and the legions that this person represents.

this is what democrats do. the state of the union, everybody was elated. now we are back to, my god, what are they doing? it has been 24 hours. if it some time. i thought the president's tone and what he had to say was perfect because he was being the grown up in the room. defending the justice system and saying what is proper, right, and fair. there is plenty of time to litigate the case against donald trump. he's going to give tons of fodder to give the campaign an opportunity to respond. democrats, just calm down. geoff: are laura barron-lopez yesterday reported that the campaign in many ways echoes donald trump's judgment in that the ultimate decision will be made by the voters. voters will be voting on the issues, not necessarily on this case in particular. how do you see that?

david: i do think that. i like the fact that biden has been restrained. this should not be democrat versus republican. this should be the justice system versus donald trump. that is what this should be about. trump is not the only populist semi authoritarian in the world. we have had 20 years of this now. people all around the world have tried to figure out, how do we beat these guys? if you look at the global consensus, going low and calling him names does not work. replicating his style does not work. if you look at the people who have successfully beaten back strong men, they go with substance. here are the issues, here is this program, that program. i am offering you a bunch of programs that are in your family's interests. that seems to be a smarter strategy. geoff: let's talk more about how

top republicans are viewing all of this. mike johnson was on fox yesterday and suggested that the u.s. supreme court should step in. here's what he said. speaker johnson: i do believe the supreme court should step in. this is totally unprecedented and it is dangerous to our system. we have all discussed this before. you all talk about it all the time. this is diminishing the american people's faith in our system of justice. to maintain a republic, you have to believe that justice is fair. that there is equal justice under the law. they do not see that right now. i think the justices on the court are deeply concerned about that. geoff: that was johnson on fox news this morning. it is not just him, mitch mcconnell, who had a frosty relationship with donald trump, says in his view this case never should have been brought. how do you view the ways republicans are circling the wagon, even when it comes to this felony? jonathan: i find it

reprehensible. when it comes to speaker johnson, i find what he says as dangerous as what donald trump said today during the press conference. speaker johnson is the second in line to the presidency. he should be, if not silent on this, as responsible and measured while disagreeing as the president was. in talking about the case. if anything gives me pause, it is the vociferous reaction of republicans, particularly of republicans who in the before times would be saying the exact opposite of what they are saying no. geoff: david, final word? david: i think it is crazy. i had some doubts about an elected democrat prosecutor going after donald trump in new york. anyone has doubts. but you have to take the jury system seriously. whether you like what alvin bragg did or not, trump was convicted on 34 counts by a jury. the jury is the core of our

legal system. for johnson to waive the jury aside and say i know better than the people in the room who actually listened to the charges, that sounds like politics to me. >> thank you both. ♪ amna: online, tens of thousands of people go missing each year. what advocates call a silent epidemic in the united states and one that affects black women at disproportionate rates. that is at pbs.org/newshour/news -- that is at pbs.org/newshour. geoff: be sure to tune into "washington week" tonight. jeffrey goldberg and his panel discuss the historic guilty verdict and how it will play on the campaign trail. amna: and on pbs news week and, how people with disabilities are navigating the relaxed covid guidelines and lack of masking. before we go tonight, a note of

thanks to one of our team. our lighting director, the man responsible for making sure the show looks as good as it does every night, is retiring today after a remarkable 43-year career here at the newshour and at the station weta. amna: charlie ide began here in 1980, working with everyone from cokie roberts to jim lehrer, gwen ifill and judy woodruff. over the years he's worked on countless weta shows, from breaking news to election nights and of course, washington week and the newshour. here's what you dont see, charlie's been our unofficial dj, playing everything from classic rock to hip hop as we leave the studio every night. geoff: he's also officially the best-dressed team member, with one of the most impressive sneaker collections i've ever seen. as you step into retirement, we wish you and your wife, sara, nothing but the best.

your legacy will continue to shine brightly here at the newshour. charlie: thank you for making everything we do better, brighter, and for always making us smile. we will miss you so. [applause] geoff: we are going to miss you, charlie. that's the newshour for tonight. i'm geoff bennett. amna: and i'm amna nawaz. on behalf of the entire newshour team, thank you for joining us. [applause] >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. and friends of the news hour. including kathy and paul anderson and camilla and george smith. the walton family foundation. working for solutions to protect water during climate change so people and nature can thrive together. the william and flora hewlett

foundation. for more than 50 years, advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better world. at hewlett.org. and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. and friends of the newshour. this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station by viewers like you. thank you. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy.] >> this is pbs newshour west, from weta studios in washington and from our bureau at the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university.

♪ >> you are watching pbs.

>> we try not to use the word unprecedented on this show we talk about the 45th president, but here we are. for the first time the american history, a former president has been found guilty in a felony criminal trial. well the next president of the american -- united states of america be someone who was convicted? will any of this come --