On a chilly Friday morning in lower Manhattan, a 100-foot flag with the words “TRUMP WON TRIFECTA” unfurled at Collect Pond Park while President-elect Donald Trump was sentenced nearby to “unconditional discharge” for falsifying business records – meaning he will not serve jail time, be fined, or be put on probation.
The sentencing ended the public show of support and distaste of them as the Trump trial carried on through the election and finished days before he was set to take office. Friday proved no different.
A small, diverse group of MAGA acolytes were there to support the incoming president. To them, the court proceedings are a disgrace, a distraction from Trump’s accomplishments. To others, like the group Rise and Resist who demonstrated at the sentencing, the real disgrace is the fact that Trump will essentially be spared any real consequences for a crime he has been convicted of.
I’ve shown up outside to several courthouse protests since Trump’s hush money trial began in 2024 before he was reelected. Each time, I watched Trump’s biggest fans as they waved flags and banners and chanted for the former and future president.
I listened to them claim the legal proceedings are a Democratic witch hunt to hurt the president-elect’s reputation. This time, I couldn’t escape the feeling that these people represent the thinking of most of the country, certainly those of us who voted.
How else would Trump have been elected president a second time? My confusion over their support at the start of the trial has become acceptance now that the election is over and he won.
Was the Trump case and conviction a witch hunt?
Ariel Kohane, 53, said he showed up to express his outrage. The Upper West Side resident was wearing a red yarmulke with “Trump” written on the front.
“He’s not a convicted felon in our hearts and minds, even though he technically is on paper,” Kohane told me.
There is a strong contingent of the United States that agrees with him. When USA TODAY/Suffolk University polled Americans about Trump’s criminal proceedings in October 2024, 38% of respondents said that federal and state prosecutors should not pursue charges against Trump if he lost in November.
On Election Night, the former president received 49.8% of the popular vote and secured an Electoral College win, putting the court proceedings against him in limbo.
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Kohane said the case shouldn’t have been brought in the first place, and that District Attorney Alvin Bragg should go after “real crime.” He mentioned other cases he believed were the result of political meddling: Daniel Penny, the vigilante former Marine who put a man in a lethal chokehold on the subway in 2023, and Jose Alba, a bodega employee who killed a customer who attacked him in 2022.
“Judges are supposed to be fair and balanced and objective, not subjective,” Kohane told me. “They’re not supposed to be woke in their duties as a judge.”
Staggering number of Americans believe the government is controlled by a cabal
The crowd of Trump supporters was thinning out when I arrived on the scene. The stragglers were catching up with one another, or being interviewed by reporters. One man unzipped his jacket to reveal a shirt that read “Black Lives MAGA.” A woman waved a Trump flag around for the cameras. A sign written on copy paper that ended “WE VOTED!!! TRUMP WON!!!” lay on the ground.
Every person I spoke with said they didn’t believe the trial was fair. One woman spoke with me about Pizzagate, the Deep State, and a labyrinth of tunnels under the United States that famous people use to run a global pedophile ring are all real. She’s not alone in her QAnon beliefs – in a 2022 poll, pollster Joel Benenson found that 44% of Americans believe the government is controlled by a secret cabal.
While I disagree strongly with those beliefs, I have to acknowledge that there are a lot of people who think this way. I’m sure there are plenty of Republicans who aren’t full-fledged conspiracy theorists, but also don’t see a problem with voting for someone who aligns himself with extremists.
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Trump has more supporters that I realized – and they believe him
The majority of New York City went about its day despite these protests – bystanders walked past the park bundled in coats and hats, fighting the wind whipping around the municipal buildings. When I visited these protests previously, I assumed it was because there aren’t many Trump supporters in the city. I assumed wrong.
Even though there were only a handful of Trump supporters protesting on Friday morning, the president-elect made a 7-point gain in New York City between 2020 and 2024, securing 30% of the votes in the city where he rose to fame.
While I believe Trump is getting off easy, there are many people in the United States – New Yorkers included – who believe the trial was unfair. While the protesters are a small, opinionated group, there are more people who agree with them than you may realize.
Democrats must remember that fighting MAGA extremism requires them to cut through the disinformation, which will require some effort over the next four years to combat this messaging.
Follow USA TODAY columnist Sara Pequeño on X, formerly Twitter,
