Former President Donald Trump has expressed that his historic trial and criminal conviction have been particularly challenging for his wife, former First Lady Melania Trump.

Last week, jurors found Trump guilty of falsifying business records to cover up hush-money payments made to former porn star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential election campaign. This verdict makes him the first US president to be convicted of a crime. Trump has repeatedly denounced the trial as rigged and politically motivated.

In an interview with Fox News over the weekend, Trump stated that success in the upcoming November US election would be his "revenge." He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 11 and plans to appeal the convictions.

Speaking to Fox on Sunday, Trump noted that the legal battle in New York has been particularly tough on his wife. "She's fine, but I think it's very hard for her," he said, adding that "in many ways, it's tougher on them [his family] than it is on me."

Under New York law, each of the 34 felony counts Trump was convicted of could result in up to four years in prison, although this outcome is considered unlikely. Trump acknowledged the possibility of imprisonment in his interview, stating that he is "okay with it" but is "not sure the public would stand for it." He added, "I think it would be tough for the public to take. You know, at a certain point there's a breaking point."

Meanwhile, Stormy Daniels, the former adult film actress at the center of the New York case, expressed her surprise at how quickly the jury reached a verdict. In her first public remarks since the conviction, Daniels told the UK newspaper The Mirror that she believes Trump "should be sentenced to jail and some community service working for the less fortunate," or even "being the volunteer punching bag at a women's shelter."

Daniels also noted that the case is "not over" for her, stating, "It's never going to be over for me. Trump may be guilty, but I still have to live with the legacy."

Trump continues to face numerous charges in three other criminal cases, including a Georgia case where he is accused of conspiring to overturn his narrow defeat by President Joe Biden in the state during the 2020 election. That case is currently tied up in appeals. In Florida, where Trump faces a federal case over his alleged mishandling of classified documents, a judge has indefinitely postponed the trial, citing the need to resolve questions about evidence before setting a date. Photo by Marc Nozell from Merrimack, New Hampshire, USA, Wikimedia commons.