Donald Trump Jr. Breaks Into ‘Elevator Pitch’ Mode Amid Donald Trump’s $250 Million Fraud Trial

As his son Donald Trump Jr. took the stand, business mogul Donald Trump’s defense team converted a Manhattan courtroom into a Trump Organization commercial.

The defense began its trial with what appeared to be a Trump Organization promo, showcasing hundreds of glossy photographs of Trump properties – ballrooms, golf courses, pools, and rooftop penthouses — all narrated by Donald Trump Jr. The former president’s eldest child testified as the defense’s first witness in the $250 million civil trial in which Trump, his adult sons, and their business associates are accused of inflating the value of Trump’s real estate assets to obtain favorable terms from banks and insurers, POLITICO reported.

For almost two hours, Trump Jr. promoted his father’s brand, gave a history of the family business that dates back to the 1900s, and showered his father with accolades. Trump Jr. praised the outgoing president, calling him “a visionary” and “an artist with real estate,” adding that part of his father’s “magic is how to figure out and create value.” The doting son showcased a PowerPoint titled “The Trump Story,” which had glossy, professional photos of glass-walled buildings, banquet rooms with chandeliers, and lush golf course grounds.

Trump Jr. talked warmly of Trump Seven Springs, a large Westchester estate where his children, who were raised in New York City, would go to play in the woods and ride ATVs. He praised all of Trump’s work as “truly a mechanical work of art.” He also described the Trump International Hotel and Tower as “another example of my father being on the leading edge of creativity.”

While the AG’s lawyers kept objecting to the defense team, the judge said he’d let the Trump defense talk of “how great the Trump Organization is.” It seems the judge didn’t want “a retrial of this case” or “to be reversed,” Salon reported.

While Engoron did see that most of it was irrelevant, he let the defense side fully present their case. When a Trump lawyer objected to a cross-question laid out by the prosecution, Engoron even responded, “You’re going to start questioning the relevance of this document? I just gave you a whole morning of irrelevance,” referring to the Trump presentation.

The Times’ reporter Jonah Bromwich said that even AG Letitia James, who has been otherwise been personally overseeing the Trump family’s testimony, left during Trump Jr.’s appearance, saying it was “one of the few times I can remember her leaving while a member of the Trump family was testifying.”

Despite the frustration of the AG’s lawyers “Engoron has let Jr. go on in these self-serving infomercials that aren’t responsive or relevant and have other evidentiary problems,” Harry Litman, a former United States Attorney wrote on Twitter , adding that “Engoron doesn’t want to create any issue and no real harm in permitting him to gas on.” Admitting that the testimony today is “a little strange,” Litman went on to say that Trump’s team has “already lost the sale to Judge Engoron, and it can’t help on appeal. He’s selling to the American public.”