Trump says guilty verdict is a 'scar' on New York justice system, vows to 'keep fighting'

 Former President Trump told Fox News Digital his guilty verdict is a "scar" on the New York justice system, while vowing to "keep fighting" and maintaining that Election Day will be "the most important day in the history of our country." 

The former president and presumptive Republican presidential nominee was found guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree on Thursday after two days of jury deliberations. 

The charges stemmed from a years-long investigation out of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. The current DA, Alvin Bragg, took over the investigation in 2022. 

Former President Donald Trump appears in Manhattan Criminal Court, Thursday, May 30, 2024, in New York. Jury deliberations in  Trump's criminal hush money trial enter a second day as jurors navigate the weighty task of evaluating the former president's guilt and innocence alongside the facts of the case.  (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, Pool)

In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital shortly after the verdict, Trump said it is "a sad day for New York and a sad day for the country." 

"The whole thing was rigged from day one — from the venue to the judge," he told Fox News Digital. "But I’ve never had support like this." 

Trump said upon returning to Trump Tower in midtown Manhattan Thursday evening, he was greeted by thousands of supporters "going crazy." 

Trump pointed to Judge Juan Merchan, saying he was "conflicted," and said the venue for the trial — Lower Manhattan — was "about as bad as it could possibly be." 

"We couldn’t get a fair trial," Trump told Fox News Digital. "It’s a sad day for New York and a sad day for the country." 

Republican presidential candidate former U.S. President Donald Trump arrives for his campaign rally in Wildwood Beach on May 11, 2024 in Wildwood, New Jersey. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

The former president said "we have to think about how something like this could have happened to our country."

"We have a corrupt, Soros-backed DA — just think about what has happened to our country," he said. "It is hard to believe." 

He added: "It’s a disgrace to the city, the state and the country." 

Former U.S. President Donald Trump sat through nearly six weeks of trial (Charly Triballeau-Pool/Getty Images)

But the former president and presumptive Republican presidential nominee stressed to Fox News Digital that he has "never had support like I have now." 

Trump’s sentencing date is set for July 11 — just four days before the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where he is expected to be formally nominated as the 2024 Republican presidential nominee. 

"We’ll go back and ask for a different day, but he’ll say no," Trump said, referring to Merchan. "He just says no to everything. This guy never said yes to anything."

Meanwhile, Trump said he will "keep fighting." 

"Of course," Trump said. "November 5th will be the most important day in the history of our country.

"We’ll be fighting hard," Trump said, saying he is excited to get back on the campaign trail. 

Former US President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event at Wildwood Beach in Wildwood, New Jersey, US, on Saturday, May 11, 2024.  ( Hannah Beier/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

"It’s the first time in six weeks that I’ve been able to get out of that courthouse," he told Fox News Digital. 

"This is a great scar on New York justice," he said. 

Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Digital that "crooked Joe Biden and the Democrats confined President Trump to a courtroom for more than eight hours a day for more than six weeks and he’s still winning." 

"Now that he is fully back on the campaign trial, Biden and the Democrats better buckle up," she said.  

Leavitt told Fox News Digital that Trump "generated billions of dollars in earned media coverage throughout the trial; hosted massive rallies and impromptu campaign stops in New York and beyond; increased his lead over crooked Joe Biden in the polls and raised more money than Biden and the Democrats in the month of April — not even a witch hunt trial could slow him down — in fact, it only made him stronger."