Lurid testimony is exposing Trump in more ways than one

STORMY Daniels had her day in court in New York yesterday and how you feel about her performance depends, like so much else, on how you feel about Donald Trump.

- Sarah Baxter

It was riveting and icky hearing her describe how Trump greeted her in his hotel room in satin pyjamas, before slipping into his boxer shorts and sprawling on the bed, come-hither style, while she was in the bathroom.

After that, goodness me! It all got a bit naughty. No wonder wife Melania, daughter Ivanka and most of the Trump family have stayed away from court, but they will have to re-engage at some point if they want to return to the White House. If Trump is found guilty, they may be called on to campaign as surrogates on his behalf.

First, the evidence. The judge had warned Daniels not to refer to Trump’s “genitalia” in court but she did manage to squeeze in how she spanked the former US president with a rolled-up magazine, with his portrait on the cover. This had a ring of truth because Trump famously loves displaying fake covers of himself on the walls of his properties. They discussed STD tests (Trump is a well-known germophobe), condoms (he didn’t use one) and the “next thing I know I was on the bed”, Daniels said.

The world’s best-known porn star sounded more affronted than saucy. Daniels had hoped to get a gig on The Apprentice TV show and said she had trotted along to Trump’s hotel room to talk business, not pleasure.

In cross-examination, defence lawyers pounced on any evidence that she was trying to extort Trump. Daniels insisted she signed a non-disclosure agreement for $130,000 on the eve of the 2016 election for a liaison that happened over a decade earlier because she was afraid of his power. Her motivation was “fear, not money”, she said. Well, possibly. But when she was accused of making a lot of money off Trump, she retorted accurately: “It has also cost me a lot of money.” American lawyers don’t come cheap.