Here's What Happens If Trump Gets Convicted In Criminal Trial

Now that Donald Trump's first criminal trial has officially begun, questions are swirling all over the media about what could happen if he gets a felony conviction. The odds of Trump losing this trial are great, but there is still a possibility the charges could be reduced in a way that avoids felony convictions. But if that doesn't happen, it opens up a whole new world of legal problems for the United States, and Ring of Fire's Farron Cousins wades through the different possibilities.

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*This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software company, so please excuse any typos.

Well, folks, now that the former president of the United States is actually sitting through his very first criminal trial, likely the first of four, it's important to address some of the questions that the public has. And ever since Trump walked into that courtroom on Monday, questions and misinformation on social media has been going wild. People want to know if he's convicted, can he still run? Can the Republicans replace him on the ballot? What happens? if he's convicted, goes to jail in New York and then somehow still gets elected? Well, fear not. Folks, we've got some answers for you. First and foremost, if Trump is convicted, can he still run for president? Yes, without a doubt, without hesitation. If he is convicted, if he is sitting in a jail cell, he can still run for and be elected president. But what if we get a conviction before the Republican Convention, right?

I mean, parties get to set their own rules for the conventions. They get to set their own nominating process. And even though Trump has secured enough delegates to win the Republican nomination, can't they just go to the convention and vote for somebody else? Well, thanks to Ted Cruz back in 2016, no, they can't. Because remember that time when Ted Cruz went out there still bitter at Donald Trump and said, Hey, delegates, vote your conscience basically trying to get the delegates to vote for not Donald Trump. So maybe they could have a different nominee. Well, after that happened, the RNC said, you know what? We're gonna change the rules. Delegates are now locked in, and if they vote for somebody other than the person that they're supposed to vote for from their state, then their vote just doesn't count. So by the RNCs own rules, which thanks to the fact that Donald Trump's daughter-in-law is now the co-chair will not change.

They cannot come up with another nominee. Trump is the Republican nominee whether or not he gets convicted. And that could end up being a massive problem for Republicans. But again, Trump's got his people in charge of the RNC, so they're not changing those rules. The next question, uh, you know, could he, could he be president from prison? Yes. Yes, he could. And that, of course, is where the real issues start to come in, because what he is facing right now in this hush money trial are state charges. Donald Trump, if elected president, cannot pardon himself from these charges if he's in prison. So he can't do anything about it. But there's a couple options of what could happen if Trump wins the nomination becomes the president, and then is still sitting in a jail cell. First and foremost, his vice president and the members of his cabinet could invoke the 25th Amendment by saying, Hey, this guy obviously can't do the duties, so we're gonna use the 25th Amendment to kick him out of office.