Trump says convicted criminals should spend time behind bars. What about him?

Trump’s team tried — and failed — to move his hush-money case to federal court

Donald Trump had better hope the US justice system has a more forgiving sentencing philosophy than his own.

Earlier this week, Trump's national press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, told the New York Times that the former president "believes anyone convicted of a crime should spend time behind bars.”

Leavitt made the comment in response to the re-conviction of Jamie Davidson, whose domestic violence sentence Trump commuted in 2021.

Trump’s own logic would condemn him to jail after he was convicted in May by a Manhattan jury on 34 counts of falsifying business records in the Stormy Daniels hush-money case. He'll be sentenced on September 18.

NBC News asked Leavitt about the comment and questioned whether Trump would apply it to his own conviction.

Former president Donald Trump believes anyone who has committed a crime should face jail time. He’ll be sentenced on 34 counts of falsifying business records in the Stormy Daniels hush-money case on September 18. (Getty Images)

“President Trump believes criminals should spend time behind bars, unlike Kamala Harris, who wants to eliminate cash bail," she said.

Trump will likely not count himself as a criminal, as he has repeatedly insisted that his conviction and other upcoming trials are political witch hunts, and that he has done nothing wrong.

The former president even tried to have his hush money case moved to a federal court, but on Tuesday that move was denied by a federal judge.

Trump's attorneys have challenged the decision in the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals.

His campaign spokesman, Steven Cheung, issued a statement saying that his defense team will "continue to fight to move this hoax into federal court where it should be put out of its misery once and for all."

US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who ruled against the move, said Trump's team failed to clear the high burden of proof needed to justify a change of jurisdiction. The judge also noted that the case involved Trump's “private, unofficial acts, outside the bounds of executive authority," and thus could not be dismissed based on the Supreme Court's presidential immunity ruling.

Trump's team is also trying to convince Judge Juan Merchan to delay sentencing in the hush-money trial until after the 2024 US presidential election on November 5. He is set to make a ruling on the potential delay on September 16, just two days before Trump is scheduled to be sentenced.

The former president has also pleaded not guilty to charges he faces in other cases, including two election interference investigations and the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case.