Lust, power, politics, money: In court with Donald Trump

Greetings from New York.

There is something incredibly surreal about watching a former United States president walk into a courtroom as both a candidate for the White House and a criminal defendant.

But there he was: Donald Trump, arguably the most well-known political figure in the world, looking almost chastened as he sat in a dreary room on the 15th floor of the New York County Supreme Court while the details of his sex life were laid bare this week.

Former US president Donald Trump leaves court on the second day of his hush-money criminal trial in Manhattan.Credit: Getty

As far as trials go, this case – in which Trump stands accused of falsifying business records to cover up an affair ahead of the 2016 presidential election – has all the makings of a Hollywood blockbuster: lust, power, politics and money.

In many ways, it is also a modern-day tragedy: a political candidate accused of breaking the law to win the highest office in the land; a legal system maligned over claims it is being weaponised by Democrats; a country so polarised that few of its citizens believe it will get better.

“I think it will be this way for at least a couple of generations,” said Joel Anderson, a Washington state police officer who was outside the court on Monday morning with a sign that declared: “Trump’s lies got cops killed on Jan 6.”

In this courtroom sketch, former president Donald Trump (centre) looks over his shoulder as he sits next to his lawyer, Todd Blanche, on the second day of jury selection for his criminal trial in Manhattan.Credit: AP

“I mean, we had some guy running through here earlier yelling, ‘F--- Joe Biden’, as loud as he could. I think Trump has opened up an anger and an evil in us that was always there, but afraid to show itself. Now, it’s like he’s given it permission to come out.”

Fortunately, evil was kept at bay for the start of the trial, which was a security operation weeks in the making.

Trump had sent out a fundraising email at the weekend telling supporters that “all hell will break loose” once the hearing began and calling for a “MASSIVE outpouring of peaceful patriotic support”.

But as his motorcade made its way from Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue to the highly fortified legal precinct, the throng of American and international reporters far outweighed the few hundred supporters who heeded his call.

Donald Trump and Stormy Daniels in 2006. He was 60, she was 27. He is accused of falsifying business records to hide a hush-money payment to her.Credit: MySpace.com/StormyDaniels

It was nonetheless quite a spectacle. Satellite TV trucks and news crews lined the pavements of Lower Manhattan, stretching several blocks. Helicopters flew overhead while swaths of police officers stood at every street corner.

And in Collect ond Park, opposite the court, protesters and counterprotesters aired their grievances.

One man held a flag that read “Trump 2028” – a reference, he explained, to Donald Trump Jr “taking over” the presidency from his father in that year’s election.

Another man stood on a park bench playing a flute and wearing a sandwich board with an illustration of Trump screaming while blindfolded with a COVID-19 N-95 mask.

And a group of fans wearing Make America Great Again caps stood around a giant flag emblazoned with the words, “Trump or Death”.

The real action, however, happened inside the court on Monday and Tuesday (US time), as prosecutors and defence lawyers began the challenging task of trying to find an impartial jury in one of the nation’s most Democratic cities.

As dozens of Manhattan residents were brought in, both sides attempted to eliminate problematic potential jurors: firstly through a 42-part questionnaire, then through direct questioning, and finally by striking out unwanted candidates due to bias or other reasons.

And then there was the spectacle of Trump himself: entering and exiting Judge Juan Merchan’s courtroom as the first US president to face criminal charges.

Gone was the incendiary Republican’s typical bravado and bluster.

Absent, as usual, was his wife, Melania, who is rarely by his side these days and has not yet committed to being part of his 2024 presidential campaign.

“Stay tuned,” is all she said when a reporter in Florida asked about her absences recently.

And on the first day of the trial before jury selection began, Trump even appeared to doze off as lawyers argued over what evidence they could present about his alleged affair with porn star Stormy Daniels, whom his fixer Michael Cohen paid $US130,000 ($200,000) to silence on the eve of the 2016 presidential election.

Fortunately, the 77-year-old Trump was far more engaged the next day, and also surprised many of us by swapping his trademark dark suit and red tie for a new, lighter blue ensemble. Was it an attempt to look less “pale, male and stale” given the importance of winning over suburban women at the election? (Notably, Biden, 81, is also increasingly wearing lighter shades of blue.)

“I’ve never seen him wearing that before,” quipped an American reporter in the overflow room where journalists had to watch a live feed because prospective jurors had filled the main courtroom next door to capacity.

It was an unforgettable few days with a front-row seat to history. And as I walked back to my hotel, I couldn’t help but notice the words of Thomas Jefferson engraved at the top of the building where Trump will spend the next six weeks: “Equal and Exact Justice To All Men Of Whatever State or Persuasion.”

I wonder what the third president of the United States would think about the nation’s 45th.

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