Republican National Committee Co-Chairman Michael Whatley said the RNC is prepared for the possibility Donald Trump may deliver his convention remarks from prison, noting the former president’s June 11 sentencing will come just days before the convention.
Trump is expected to accept the Republican Party’s nomination for the presidency at the Milwaukee convention, which will take place from July 15 to July 18.
During an interview Tuesday, Newsmax host Rob Finnerty pressed Whatley on whether the RNC had contingency plans for Trump’s acceptance speech in the event Trump is sentenced to jail time. Following his guilty verdict last week, Judge Juan Merchan has scheduled sentencing for July 11, four days before the convention.
“Let’s say Trump is behind bars. And again, it is a possibility. Would he make a speech from prison?” Finnerty asked. “Would he make a speech before sentencing day? Just something that you could play during the RNC? Are those contingencies being thought about, considered, and planned for?”
“Everything is being thought about. Everything is being considered,” Whatley replied.
The RNC co-chairman expressed his belief that the former president will deliver planned remarks for the convention, even if that means from prison.
“At this point in time, we will have to wait and see kind of what the courts present us with the opportunity to do,” he added. “But look, Donald Trump will communicate directly with the American voters the way that he always does.”
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The former president was found guilty last week on all counts in a New York hush money case. In an unprecedented conviction, Trump was convicted on 34 felony counts, each of which carries the possibility of up to four years in prison.
Legal experts say it is highly unlikely Trump will be sentenced to jail time. The former president was convicted of a white-collar, nonviolent, first-time offense, which rarely brings a prison sentence.