Can Trump still run for president if he is convicted?

A jury will soon weigh Donald Trump’s fate in the New York hush-money trial that could culminate with him becoming the first US president to be convicted of a crime.

Meanwhile, he faces three other criminal indictments for withholding classified documents in Florida and attempting to overturn the 2020 election in two separate cases in Washington DC and Fulton County, Georgia. And that’s all while he remains hot on the trail of another stint in the White House.

The ex-commander-in-chief — already the first in American history to be impeached twice — is also battling a number of other lawsuits relating to his business practices and personal history.

He denies all possible charges and is arguing that, in any case, a president should be granted absolute immunity from prosecution to enable them to execute difficult decisions in the Oval Office without fear of future reprisals, a matter on which the US Supreme Court could soon rule.

Despite this blizzard of controversy, conservative voters appear largely persuaded by Mr Trump’s baseless “political persecution” narrative, which he has gleefully used to fundraise for his campaign.

The candidate has insisted he will remain in the race for the presidency whatever the outcome of the criminal cases against him and, so far, his strategy of delay, delay, delay appears to be working, with no further trials looking likely before Election Day.

Mr Trump’s troubles began in April 2023, when he became the first-ever former or current American president to be hit with criminal charges when a New York City grand jury voted to indict him over an alleged $130,000 hush money payment made to the porn star Stormy Daniels just prior to the 2016 election.

He pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts