Stormy Daniels issues a dare to Trump after her testimony in criminal trial
Adult film star and director Stormy Daniels went out of her way to troll former President Donald Trump after her second day of testimony at the Manhattan hush money trial on Thursday.
"Real men respond to testimony by being sworn in and taking the stand in court," wrote Daniels on X. "Oh...wait. Nevermind."
There are no current plans for the former president to personally testify in his own defense. He has previously claimed that the gag order placed on him by Judge Juan Merchan prevents him from testifying, but this is not true. The gag order, which Trump's defense counsel unsuccessfully tried to amend after the day's testimony Thursday, only prohibits Trump from attacking certain sensitive people, like witnesses, jurors, and the family of officers of the court — and in fact Merchan has had to remind Trump that the gag order is not an excuse not to testify.
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Daniels, the recipient of the alleged $130,000 hush payment to conceal her affair with Trump from voters in the 2016 presidential election, gave a widespread account of salacious details of that affair on the witness stand, including that Trump did not use a condom, and that she felt intimidated by the power dynamic between them and unable to say no.
While the former president doesn't appear set to testify personally, he has been visibly agitated throughout the latest witness testimony, at one point audibly cursing as Daniels gave her version of the story. This prompted Merchan to order defense attorney Todd Blanche to get his client back under control.
At the same time Daniels made her clapback at the former president, her husband, adult film actor Barrett Blade, posted in support, saying, "Cheers to my wife who can’t be rattled when speaking the truth." Daniels shortly replied back, "Thank you! Lucky to have had you in my life for the last 25 years! #teamstormy #loyalfans #truth"