CNN analyst Paul Begala didn't hold back on his opinions of Donald Trump after the 77-year-old becoming the first former U.S. president to ever be convicted of a felony.
The New York jury found Trump guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business documents related to a $130,000 hush money payment made to Stormy Daniels prior to the 2016 presidential election.
The adult film actress testified that they met in 2006 at a celebrity golf tournament and had a sexual encounter after having dinner in his hotel room.
On Friday, May 31, Begala suggested the embattled ex-prez "needs to pay himself hush money because every time he speaks he’s losing." He further noted that he believes Trump only did "better" in the trial than expected because he was under a gag order.
"He hurts himself when he goes on these hysterical rants," Begala added. "Yes, he helps himself with his base, but his base is not the majority of the country in there."
The analyst also claimed he feels "pity" for Trump, dubbing him "an obese, flatulent old man with bad makeup and weird hair who had to sit in a courtroom and listen to a p--- star testify about how bad he is in bed."
"The problem is, he is exclusively focused on himself," he explained. "This is where I think the Biden campaign needs to take it. 'Mr. Trump is in it for himself. I’m in it for you.'"
"Mr. Trump cares desperately about staying out of prison. That’s his most important job right now is keep himself out of prison," Begala continued. "But he seems to be fixated only on his own grievances and grudges and vengeance and his business deals and his complaining about the last election in the last jury trial."
Begala noted that President Biden has been given an opportunity to "not push on the criminality, but to push on what voters care about" in the upcoming 2024 election.
"Put Mr. Trump on metaphorical trial for wanting to cut Medicare and Social Security so he can cut his own taxes," he said. "Put him on trial for eliminating Roe versus Wade, put him on trial for things that affect my life and yours, not just his."
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As OK! previously reported, Trump vowed to appeal the jury's decision and continue his campaign after the guilty verdict.
"The real verdict is gonna be November 5th by the people. And they know what happened here and everybody knows what happened here," he told reporters earlier this week. "We didn't do a thing wrong. I'm a very innocent man. It's okay, I'm fighting for our country, I'm fighting for our constitution."
