Former President Donald Trump appeared to close his eyes at his criminal hush money trial on Thursday, as former adult film star Stormy Daniels—the woman at the center of the case—testified in the high-profile trial, marking the latest time Trump has shut his eyes in the trial.
Former President Donald Trump denied sleeping after multiple reports suggested otherwise last week, ... [+]
Trump appeared to doze off on the first day of jury selection in the hush money case, where Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, according to reporters in the Manhattan courtroom, who said they observed Trump lean back in his chair with his eyes closed before jolting back awake after his attorneys passed him notes.
The very next day, Trump dropped his head inside the courtroom, keeping his eyes closed before jolting his head upright, drooping it again, jerking up, and slouching for a third time, according to Law360.
Trump’s eyes remained “closed for extended periods” during the final day of jury selection, according to New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman, just before the full 12-member jury and alternates were officially empaneled, following an exhaustive selection process involving rounds of questioning over potential bias.
Before opening statements began, Trump seemed to be “struggling to stay awake,” according to New York Times reporter Susanne Craig,” though he appeared to wake up after a nudge from his attorney Todd Blanche.
Trump appeared to nod off for “significant portions” of witness testimony, Haberman reported, while NBC news reporters noted Trump occasionally “jerked” his head up “in a way consistent with sleeping,” including during his attorneys’ cross-examination of witness Gary Farro, a banker who worked for former Trump attorney Michael Cohen.
As Daniels took the witness stand for the second day this week, Trump’s eyes remained closed for “several minutes,” the Times and ABC News reported.
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Trump, who has berated New York prosecutors for bringing charges against him and slammed the judge overseeing the case, denied reports he was sleeping, saying in a Truth Social post last week he had “simply close[d] my beautiful blue eyes, sometimes.” Trump also took the opportunity to reiterate his repeated criticism of the case as a “witch hunt,” and claimed he listens “intensely and take[s] it ALL in!!!”
Daniels took the witness stand for the second day of testimony Thursday morning, fielding questions from Trump’s attorneys about her alleged affair with the former president and the $130,000 hush money payment she took from Cohen before the 2016 election. During cross-examination, Trump attorney Susan Necheles accused Daniels—whose real name is Stephanie Clifford—of attempting to profit off the story of the affair, which Trump denies having with Daniels. On Tuesday, Daniels testified she was not incentivized by the hush money payout, saying she feared Trump could retaliate if the story got out, though she admitted she had wanted to sell the story even before the hush money offer was on the table so she could control the narrative.