California Public Policy Institute releases hate crime data

Emil Guillermo

The news of Trump’s historic 34 convictions is about a week old.

Has it occurred to you that the man who insists that he is the Republican Party’s presidential candidate is the former president officially known as CFDT34? If the name sounds like a dangerous radioactive isotope, it is – for our democracy.

CFDT34 is my idea for a new acronym that we should all adopt. It stands for “convicted felon Donald Trump,” where 34 is the number of guilty pleas.

We must repeat CFDT34 loudly as a constant reminder. Too many Americans deny it. Or just lie.

Especially CFDT34 itself.

Trump insists it’s all a “fascist” witch hunt, but the verdicts were based on an avalanche of evidence. The defense did not deny the statements of David Pecker of the National Enquirer, who admitted to his role in the Trump campaign in capturing and then killing stories that threatened Trump’s candidacy.

The defense didn’t even try to explain Hope Hicks, an ally who gave damning testimony that Trump knew about, about the deal to pay off Daniels. Hicks spoke the truth with tears in his eyes. The defense never counterattacked.

And then there were the checks, invoices and book entries that explained the whole scheme. The payments were a lie called “attorney fees,” but were actually reimbursements to attorney Michael Cohen, who used his own money to pay off Daniels.

Small things? Not if it is intended to violate electoral law. The payment was intended to influence the course of the election and also became an illegal contribution to the campaign.

The hero is New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg, an African-American who led the prosecution. Bragg brought justice to all voters who were denied the truth in 2016.

Compare Bragg to Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla). major African Americans lie for CFDT34.

Scott and Donalds lack the courage to respect the rule of law. A fake case, they say. He should never have been prosecuted. Where was the crime?

It’s all nonsense.

Before the historic verdicts, historic polls were held.

Black voters were seen as abandoning Democrats, and Biden won just 70% of the vote. Four years ago, Biden was at 81%.

CNN called the pre-sentence poll the best GOP showing among black voters since Nixon.

The age division is more telling. Black voters age 50 and older were 85% behind Biden. Those who remembered the civil rights battles still sided with the Democrats.

A new division has emerged among black voters under 50. The reported polling average showed young Blacks favoring Trump by 27% and Biden by 64%.

Nearly a third of young Black people supported Trump before the verdicts. But what would young Black people think now? Would they support a person like Trump, a man who has racist baggage like the Central Park 5 saga and is now a convicted felon?

I haven’t seen the new data yet. However, given that Biden and Harris have turned their attention to the Black community, talking about the economy and wallet issues, I would expect a turnaround as young Black people hear lies and general hypocrisy among the GOP.

about the author

Emil Guillermo, an award-winning journalist and commentator, has covered race and politics in Hawaii, California and Washington. He has worked in newspapers, television and radio, and hosted NPR’s “All Things Brane.”