Trump, Biden and 2024 campaign aides anxiously await New York hush money verdict

NEW YORK CITY – Former President Donald Trump and his legal team aren't the only ones waiting anxiously for a jury verdict.

There are also the political campaigns of both Trump and his 2024 general election rival, President Joe Biden. As a New York jury heads into a second day of deliberations on Thursday over the hush money-related charges against Trump, the Republican and Democratic presidential campaigns are preparing post-verdict strategy plans amid uncertainty over how pivotal voters might react to a guilty verdict or a hung jury.

Trump has said he is eager to make up for lost time in terms of campaign events and fundraising and has frequently betrayed concern that a guilty verdict could hurt him with undecided voters, who polling shows could back Biden if the Manhattan jury does find the former president guilty. "The whole thing is rigged," Trump told reporters Wednesday at the court after the jury retired to consider its verdict. The former president has long claimed without evidence that prosecutors and other officials are actually targeting his reelection bid as he faces four sets of criminal charges.