Stormy Daniels taunts Donald Trump, says "real men" would take the stand and testify

The adult film star trolled the former president following a grueling day of testimony in his Manhattan trial

By Nandika Chatterjee

News Fellow

Published May 10, 2024 1:54PM (EDT)

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump leaves the State Supreme Court in Manhattan, New York on April 15, 2024, for the first day of his trial on charges of falsifying business records. (MICHAEL NAGLE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump leaves the State Supreme Court in Manhattan, New York on April 15, 2024, for the first day of his trial on charges of falsifying business records. (MICHAEL NAGLE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Stormy Daniels trolled Donald Trump after spending a combative day in court fielding questions from the former president's legal team, urging him to take the stand in his own defense.

“Real men respond to testimony by being sworn in and taking the stand in court,” Daniels wrote on X, posting after the Republican's lawyers failed to convince Judge Juan Merchan to partially lift his gag order so that he could talk about her.

Trump is currently subject to a gag order that prevents him from speaking negatively about or towards the adult film star and other witnesses. The former president's lawyers had claimed that since Daniels had completed her testimony, she could no longer be intimidated by Trump.

But Merchan rejected that argument on Thursday. "The reason why the gag order is in place to begin with is precisely because of the nature of these attacks — the vitriol," he said, per Axios.

Susan Necheles, the only woman on Trump’s legal team in the Manhattan hush money case, repeatedly took stabs at Daniel’s credibility during Thursday's cross examination, seeking to portray her as self-serving and unreliable. Legal experts said the aggressive approach risks backfiring with jurors.

 


MORE FROM Nandika Chatterjee