“The people call Stormy Daniels.”
So began the intense and often uncomfortable testimony of Ms. Daniels, who spent almost five hours in a Manhattan courtroom on Tuesday recounting her story of a 2006 encounter with Donald J. Trump and the ensuing hush-money cover-up that has become the bedrock of the prosecutor’s case.
Ms. Daniels spoke quickly and at length about her now infamous first meeting with Mr. Trump at a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe, Nev., sometimes veering off topic, which opened her to objections by the defense.
After the lunch break, Mr. Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche moved for a mistrial, calling Ms. Daniels’s testimony prejudicial and arguing the prosecution’s questions for her were designed to embarrass Mr. Trump and “inflame this jury.”
The judge, Juan M. Merchan, agreed that some of Ms. Daniels’s graphic testimony “may have been better left unsaid,” but denied a mistrial.
The former president is accused of falsifying business records to cover up a $130,000 payment to Ms. Daniels just before the 2016 election. Mr. Trump, 77, has denied the charges and says he did not have sex with Ms. Daniels. If convicted, he could face prison time or probation.
Here are five takeaways from Mr. Trump’s 13th day on trial.
Prosecutors took a risk with their witness.
Jurors heard a vivid account of the Lake Tahoe encounter and met the woman who received the hush-money deal. The impact could be profound, and could be a risk for prosecutors, depending on whether the jury received Ms. Daniels’s story of Mr. Trump’s actions as prurient or powerful.
She described meeting Mr. Trump at the 2006 golf event and accepting his dinner invitation after her publicist said: “What could possibly go wrong?”
She recalled that Mr. Trump was wearing pajamas when she met him at his hotel suite, and she asked him to change. They discussed the porn industry, and he asked about residuals, unions and sexual disease testing.
She said they talked about his family, including his daughter, and he likened her to Ms. Daniels — “People underestimate her as well,” Ms. Daniels recounted. They also discussed his wife, and Mr. Trump said they did not “even sleep in the same room.” He suggested Ms. Daniels might appear on “The Apprentice.”
When she later emerged from the bathroom, Ms. Daniels found him partially undressed, she said. The sex was consensual, she said, but there was a power “imbalance.”
The motive for the payoff is a point of contention.
Prosecutors asked Ms. Daniels about a 2018 statement in which she denied the sexual encounter. Ms. Daniels said that she had not wanted to sign it and that it was not true.
The defense, capitalizing on Ms. Daniels’s shortcomings as a witness, came out blazing. Susan Necheles, a defense attorney, implied in her cross-examination that Ms. Daniels was trying to “extort money” from the former president.
Ms. Daniels replied sharply: “False.”
Daniels’s story bothers Trump.
Before court even started Tuesday morning, Trump telegraphed his frustration with Ms. Daniels by posting an angry message on Truth Social, saying he had just learned about a coming witness and adding his lawyers had “no time” to prepare. The post was removed shortly thereafter, possibly because of concerns over violating the gag order.
Mr. Trump, who has spent many moments of the trial with his eyes closed, remained attentive for part of the day, often displaying a sour expression on his face. He continually whispered to his lawyers and at one point mouthed an expletive.
But by the afternoon, he had returned to his habit of closing his eyes, even during a combative cross-examination.
Daniels’s credibility is a hurdle for prosecutors.
Ms. Daniels’s motivations are a major focus of the defense. In a sharp moment, Ms. Necheles confronted Ms. Daniels about her hatred of the former president, at one point asking whether she wanted him to go to jail. Ms. Daniels responded: “I want him to be held accountable.”
Ms. Necheles also asked Ms. Daniels about making money by claiming to have had sex with Mr. Trump. Ms. Daniels responded that “I’ve been making money by telling my stories,” later adding “it has also cost me a lot of money.”
Trump’s words haunt him.
Prosecutors have tried several times to use Mr. Trump’s prior statements against him.
Before Ms. Daniels testified Tuesday, a witness read aloud passages of books by Mr. Trump. Some spoke to his frugality: “Every dollar counts in business, and for that matter, every dime.”
Others spoke to his penchant for revenge.
“For many years I’ve said that if someone screws you, screw them back,” the witness read. The passage continued: “When somebody hurts you, just go after them as viciously and as violently as you can. Like it says in the Bible, an eye for an eye.”
Not long after, one of his enemies — Ms. Daniels — took the stand. Her cross-examination resumes on Thursday.
