Judge Reprimanded Donald Trump for Saying 'Bullshit' as Stormy Daniels Testified

Amid the ongoing hush money trial, former President Donald Trump used a cuss word to show his disapproval of Stormy Daniels' testimony. The adult film star was narrating the incident in a Manhattan courtroom from 2006 where she had a sexual encounter with Trump when the 2024 presidential hopeful shook his head and mouthed "bulls**t." Among the observers was Judge Juan Merchan, who reprimanded the Republican front-runner and warned his attorneys soon after to refrain from using insulting words.

"I understand that your client is upset at this point, but he is cursing audibly, and he is shaking his head visually and that's contemptuous," Merchan admonished. "It has the potential to intimidate the witness and the jury can see that," per Daily Mail. The 77-year-old politician has been charged with falsifying financial records to hide the 'hush payment' he made with the assistance of his then-lawyer and fixer for over a decade, Michael Cohen, to Daniels so she stayed quiet about her alleged affair with Trump before the 2016 elections. Subsequently, the porn star accepted the money. 

On Tuesday, May 7, 2024, Daniels took the stand to reveal the details of her intimate moment with Trump inside a hotel room. The salacious testimony turned so intense and explicit at one point that even the jurors struggled to keep a straight face. However, she persisted. "I took it and turned him around and swatted him," the 45-year-old recalled spanking Trump's bottom with a rolled-up magazine that had his face on the cover. 

Her testimony made at least two jurors smirk while the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee mouthed "that's bulls**t" to his lawyers. The porn star, whose real name is Stephanie Gregory Clifford, painted a more graphic picture of the sexual activity while the observers noticed Trump was silently steaming inside. Daniels then told the court that the former real estate mogul told her 'not to worry' about his wife, Melania Trump, because the couple didn't even share the bed. 

In the meantime, Judge Merchanwarnedg Trump's lawyers, "You need to speak to him. I won't tolerate that," referring to Trump's insulting facial expression, which gave away his feelings of disgust. However, his attorneys kept raising their objections to the explicit details of the 'act,' including the tiles of the hotel room where she'd slept with Trump. 

Trump's lawyer, Susan Necheles, grilled Daniels during the cross-examination, "You have been making money by claiming you had sex with Donald Trump for more than a decade, right?" The porn star shot back, "I have been making money by telling my story," per New York Post. She also clarified that she had accepted the payment because then I'd be safe and the story wouldn't come out."

The tense day was approaching its end when Blanche, Trump's lawyer, requested a mistrial. However, Merchan denied the bid but acknowledged that "there are some things that would've been better left unsaid," referring to Daniels' 'suggestive,' graphic account of what went on between her and the ex-president. "I believe the witness was very difficult to control," the judge admitted.