President Joe Biden will respond to the felony conviction of Donald Trump, possibly more forcefully than he has commented on his political rival's criminal cases in the past, as his campaign celebrates the guilty verdict, sources said.
A direct response from Biden would mark a sharp reversal for the president who -- along with his campaign -- has only slightly needled Trump.
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In recent weeks, the president has indirectly joked about Trump's New York trial, saying in his debate challenge he heard Trump was "free on Wednesdays." (The trial was not in session on Wednesdays.)
A source told ABC News that Biden and his team are brainstorming just how much more forcefully the president should take on Trump following the guilty verdict.
President Joe Biden takes the stage at a campaign rally at Girard Col...Show more ---Show more
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
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Despite taking a different posture in the coming days and weeks, Biden will not completely alter his overall messaging to voters, a source said, as his campaign is keenly aware that Trump has argued cases against him are politically motivated.
But while the president does not want to celebrate, a source told ABC News cheers broke out at Biden campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, as the verdict was read Thursday afternoon. And Biden fired off a fundraising appeal on X, the site formerly known as Twitter, following the news.
Former President Donald Trump walks to make comments to memb...Show more ---Show more
Seth Wenig/AP
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Biden will, however, continue to make his argument that Trump is a threat to democracy and unfit to serve, ABC News has learned -- a message his campaign reiterated in its response to the guilty verdict.
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"Donald Trump has always mistakenly believed he would never face consequences for breaking the law for his own personal gain," Biden campaign communications director Michael Tyler said in a statement. "But today's verdict does not change the fact that the American people face a simple reality. There is still only one way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office: at the ballot box. Convicted felon or not, Trump will be the Republican nominee for president."
President Joe Biden speaks during a campaign stop at South Restau...Show more ---Show more
Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters
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"The threat Trump poses to our democracy has never been greater," Tyler continued, later adding, "A second Trump term means chaos, ripping away Americans' freedoms and fomenting political violence – and the American people will reject it this November."
The White House put out only a brief statement on the Trump verdict. "We respect the rule of law," Ian Sams, the White House counsel’s office spokesperson, said, adding, "no additional comment.”
ABC News' MaryAlice Williams and Michelle Stoddart contributed to this report.