Trump and his allies braced for a guilty verdict. Then the bombshell arrived

The 34-count guilty verdict reached Thursday by a Manhattan jury – the first criminal conviction of a former president – landed like a bomb on the American political landscape. Trump’s campaign had long braced for this outcome, readying their candidate and his supporters for an unfavorable conclusion by casting the case as a political spectacle. But now that a verdict has arrived, uncertainty lurks behind every decision.