Former U.S. president Donald Trump said he is 鈥淥K鈥� with serving potential jail time or being under house arrest following his historic conviction on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
鈥淚鈥檓 OK with it,鈥� Trump told Fox News in an interview that aired Sunday when asked about the potential punishments. 鈥淚 saw one of my lawyers the other day on television saying, 鈥極h no, you don鈥檛 want to do that to the president.鈥� I said: You don鈥檛 beg for anything.鈥�
But, Trump added, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think the public would stand it. I鈥檓 not sure the public would stand for it.鈥�
鈥淚 think it would be tough for the public to take, you know, at a certain point, there鈥檚 a breaking point,鈥� Trump said.
His comments come just days after a Manhattan jury of all charges in his hush money trial, making him the first former president to be found guilty of a felony and the first major-party presidential nominee to be convicted of a crime in the midst of a campaign for the White House.
Judge Juan Merchan set Trump鈥檚 sentencing for 10 a.m. ET on July 11. Merchan could sentence Trump to probation or up to 4 years in state prison on each count, with a maximum of 20 years.
For now, the former president remains out of prison as he awaits sentencing. He maintained in the Fox News interview that he didn鈥檛 do anything wrong and railed against the 鈥渟ick鈥� people involved in his conviction.
鈥淚鈥檓 fighting for the Constitution,鈥� Trump said, adding that the trial had been 鈥渢ougher鈥� on his family than himself. Speaking specifically of his wife, former first lady Melania Trump, the former president said, 鈥淪he鈥檚 fine, but I think it鈥檚 very hard for her. I mean, she鈥檚 fine. But it鈥檚 鈥� you know, she has to read all this crap.鈥�
Asked about the prospect of seeking political retribution should he win the 2024 presidential election, Trump said that while just succeeding sounds 鈥渂eautiful,鈥� it鈥檚 鈥渁wfully hard when you see what they鈥檝e done.鈥�
鈥淭hese people are so evil, and at the same time the country can come together,鈥� he added.
