7 strange moments from Stormy Daniels' testimony: Paranormal activity, possums and the orange turd
7 bizarre moments from Stormy Daniels' testimony in Donald Trump's hush money trial
Stormy Daniels testified at the Manhattan courtroom in Donald Trump's criminal trial on May 7 and May 9, recounting her alleged sexual encounter with the former president. She took the witness stand for more than six hours, narrating how she met Trump in 2006 at the celebrity golf tournament on the banks of Lake Tahoe in Nevada and how the one-time meeting led her to the real estate mogul's hotel room. The hush money payment that stemmed from the alleged sex scandal is the heart of the historic criminal trial. Trump faces 34 felony counts for allegedly falsifying business records to cover up a $130,000 payment made to Daniels before the 2016 election to silence her about their affair. Here are seven strange moments from Daniels' testimony.
1. Stormy Daniels' ability to talk to the dead was questioned
A startling revelation of Daniels on the witness stand was her ability to talk to the dead. "You've been making money off of your claim that you can talk to the dead?" asked Trump attorney Susan Necheles to Daniels. While discussing her paranormal abilities, the attorney also asked whether Daniels' boyfriend had doubted her sanity, prompting an objection from the prosecution. The bizarre inquiry, totally unrelated to the hush money case, was possibly aimed at undermining the witness' credibility.
2. Paranormal activity under Stormy Daniels' New Orleans home was debunked as a giant possum
Followed by the question about Daniels' ability to talk to the dead, the defense also questioned about her 'Spooky Babes' show, which investigated paranormal activity. The actress testified that the supernatural-themed show aimed to explore "interesting and unexplained activity" at her New Orleans home. However, she admitted, "A lot of the activity was completely debunked as a giant possum that was under the house."
3: Stormy Daniels' take on Trump's slogan 'Make America Great Again'
To prove Daniels publicized the sex scandal story about Trump to make money, the defense cited her 'Making America Horny Again' strip club tour, which was a witty wordplay of the ex-president's campaign slogan "Make America Great Again." Daniels disputed the claims, stating she came forward with the story to reveal "the truth." And regarding the tour name, she testified it was not her idea and fought "tooth and nail" against using it. In addition, the witness also testified that she did not make original posts with the title on her social media handles but reposted some of them.
4. Defending the 'orange turd' remark
In March, Daniels apparently took to X (formerly Twitter) to write, "Exactly! Making me the best person to flush the orange turd down." During her testimony, she defended the post, saying it was a "hyperbole" to another tweet that called her a "human toilet." Daniels further claimed she did not explicitly refer to Trump as the "orange turd." She told the defense attorney, "It doesn't say President Trump. It says orange turd, so if that's what you interpret, then..." But she later added, "Oh, I absolutely meant Mr Trump."
5. Spanking Donald Trump with a magazine
Yet another bizarre moment came when Daniels revealed details about her sexual encounter with Trump. She testified that during their first meeting, she spanked the former president with a magazine. "Someone should spank you with that," recounted Daniels about her conversation with Trump, adding that the real estate mogul, dressed in a black kimono-like garment over a tight black shirt, rolled up the magazine and gave her a daring look. "So I took it from him, and I said turn around, and I swatted him right on the butt," said Daniels to the jurors.
6. Defense accused Stormy Daniels of being good at making 'phony stories'
The defense brought up Daniels' experience in creating adult content to argue that her sexual encounter with Trump was a made-up story. "You have a lot of experience making phony stories about sex," said defense attorney Necheles. Daniels responded, "Wow. That's not how I would put it. The sex in the films is very much real, just like what happened to me in that room." The lawyer then probed Daniels about her experience in memorizing fictional stories and whether she was telling a story about her affair with Trump. "If that story was untrue, I would've written it to be a lot better," retorted Daniels.
7. Donald Trump greeted Stormy Daniels in silk or satin pajamas
Daniels succeeded in painting the picture of the former president waiting for her wearing silk or satin pajamas. She testified that Trump was in his pajamas when she entered his Lake Tahoe hotel room suite. Daniels said, "He was wearing silk or satin pajamas that I immediately made fun of him for." She noted that she had asked Trump, "Does Mr Heffner know you stole his pajamas?" in reference to Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner, after seeing him in the pajamas. Subsequently, Trump apparently returned in a dress shirt and dress pants, obliging "very politely" to her request to change.
