There are moments, more than others, that scream the humiliation of it all.
Take this, before Tuesday’s proceedings got under way. “No descriptions of genitalia or anything but it’s important to elicit that she had sex with him.”
It was the prosecution’s assurance prior to questioning Stormy Daniels after Donald Trump’s lawyers had objected, in advance, to her testifying to the details of sexual acts.
It would be that kind of day in this kind of trial.
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In a dingy New York courtroom, this was the president and the porn star, together again, in a reunion most reductive for Donald Trump.
He might have secured guarantees on anatomical detail but, from the moment the court heard “The People call Stormy Daniels” this was Trump with his trousers down, no doubt.
Ms Daniels told her story, of growing up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the daughter of a single mother. She edited her high school newspaper, enjoyed ballet dancing and horses and had ambitions to be a technician.
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By the time she met Donald Trump, aged 27, we learned she was an adult film actress and director, star of the likes of “40 year-old Virgin” and “Knocked Up”.
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By her telling, the Trump encounter was more “Austin Powers” – the penthouse suite, the satin pyjamas and the spanking with a rolled up magazine.
“Bullshit,” Donald Trump was heard to mutter. His problem is that this kind of bullshit sticks.
Whatever his lawyers’ protestations about Stormy Daniels’ credibility – and there are holes – that’s hardly the headline for a watching, voting, public.
What will they take from court to the polling booth in November? Quite apart from the imagery, what message does it send to key demographics?
An affair with a porn star, whilst married, is a poor fit with the principles of evangelicals, so critical to the Trump vote in 2016. Suburban women might also reel from this tawdry peek backstage at the presidency.
How much will Donald Trump worry? About $130,000 worth. It is the premium he paid to stop the story coming out in the first place.
Sadly, for him, the insurance policy has run out.
After a night with the soft porn actor, it’s the hard core consequences.
