Stormy Daniels turned her second day of testimony into a tutorial on porn Thursday, insisting that the sex on screen is "very real" — just like the sex she says she had with Donald Trump.
There was one important distinction, the adult-film star suggested: sex with Trump would make a pretty bad porn movie.
"So you have a lot of experience making phony stories about sex appear to be real, right?" defense lawyer Susan Necheles asked during a fiery morning cross-examination at the ongoing hush money trial in Manhattan.
As questions go, it was a zinger. Implicit in the question was an accusation — that Daniels has made a career out of lying about sex, including about an encounter she says she had with Trump in a Lake Tahoe hotel suite in 2006.
But Daniels' answer was a zinger, too.
"Wow," the porn star responded, pausing briefly, then continuing.
"That's not how I'd put it. The sex in the films, it's very much real," she said. "Just like what happened to me in that room" with Trump.
"All right," Necheles continued. "But you're making fictionalized stories about sex. You write these stories?"
"No," Daniels protested. "The sex is real. The character names might be different, but the sex is very real. That's why it's pornography and not a B-movie."
The GOP frontrunner and criminal defendant sat slouched at the defense table just 20 feet from Daniels, as she went on to suggest that her encounter with Trump would have made a pretty bad porn movie.
Necheles asked Daniels if she had a lot of experience writing porn scripts. Daniels had testified earlier that in addition to starring in some 200 porn flicks and compilations, she's written and directed 70 more.
"I have a lot of experience writing dialogue, not writing sex" she told Necheles. "Pretty sure we all know how to do that" without a script, Daniels quipped.
"And if that story was untrue," she added, meaning the story of having sex with Trump, "I would have written it a lot better."
Laughter filled the courtroom, and several jurors smiled.
Earlier Thursday, Daniels was hammered by Necheles about recent posts on X in which she referred to the GOP frontrunner as an "orange turd."
Necheles asked Daniels if she's been posting about how she's going to be "instrumental in putting President Trump in jail?"
"Show me where it says I'm going to be instrumental in putting President Trump in jail," Daniels snapped back.
Daniels was shown one of her March tweets that read: "Exactly! Making me the best person to flush the orange turd down."
The post was in response to another post that called Daniels "aka THE HUMAN TOILET."
The post was then displayed on four large overhead screens in the courtroom — and on the computer monitor directly in front of Trump at the defense table.
"I don't see the word instrumental or jail," Daniels protested.
"What did you mean?" Necheles demanded.
"I don't know what I mean," Daniels answered defiantly.
"Ms. Daniels," Necheles pursued. "I'm asking you if you know what you meant when you said 'flush the orange turd.' You don't want to admit that you meant President Trump?"
"Oh I definitely meant pres— " Daniels then stopped herself before continuing — "Donald Trump."
Daniels' second day on the stand was a hot ticket.
Stormy Daniels was on the stand in NY v Trump criminal trial for a day and a half, ending at 12:30p today. Couldn’t be prouder of my client. pic.twitter.com/riTnzwdsQf
— clark brewster (@cbrew1) May 9, 2024
Court officials said the lines to get into court on Thursday morning were the longest they've been since the trial kicked off with jury selection on April 15.
The long lines were not surprising, given the fireworks during her first day on the witness stand Tuesday.
On direct examination Tuesday by prosecutor Susan Hoffinger, Daniels described having "brief" sex with Trump in July 2006, in his penthouse suite during a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe.
Daniels made the jarring mention of his not using a condom. When she blurted out the words "missionary position," the defense objected, and the reference was stricken from the record.
The porn star has taunted Trump on Twitter in the past, calling him an "orange turd" and daring him, "Game on, Tiny." But she dropped her typically brash public persona in telling jurors that she felt frightened and ashamed after the encounter.
She also said she came forward with her story 10 years later, on the brink of the 2016 election, because she feared for her safety.
Sure, she wanted money, she conceded. But she also wanted to get out ahead of the story, she said. Getting her name on a non-disclosure contract was one way to "get out in front where you are safe — hide in plain view," Daniels said an attorney advised.
The sparks flew as Necheles began her cross-examination on Tuesday by demanding that Daniels admit she hates Trump. "Yes!" Daniels responded quickly.
The Manhattan district attorney's office alleges that Trump falsified business records to cover up a $130,000 hush-money payment to Daniels ahead of the 2016 election to keep her silent about the sex — an accusation Trump vehemently denies.
The payment, delivered by Cohen, was wired to Daniels 11 days before the election, according to prosecutors and records shown as evidence in the trial.
This story was updated with additional detail.
