For three weeks, witness after witness in Donald J. Trump’s criminal trial has spoken the name of Stormy Daniels, the porn star whose claim of a sexual encounter with the former president is at the center of the case. Today, jurors are hearing from her.
Ms. Daniels was called by prosecutors to take the witness stand in the Manhattan courtroom on Tuesday to testify against Mr. Trump. It was her first time relaying her account while in the same room as Mr. Trump since her story of the encounter and a subsequent $130,000 payment to buy her silence became public six years ago.
Ms. Daniels appeared nervous on the stand, speaking so quickly that at times it was difficult to understand her words. She began by talking about her difficult upbringing in Louisiana before turning to how she met Mr. Trump for the first time in 2006 at a golf tournament in Lake Tahoe, Nev.
She testified that Mr. Trump sought to have dinner with her there and that his bodyguard, Keith Schiller, took down her phone number. At the time, Mr. Trump was 60, and she was 27.
Ms. Daniels asked her publicist about attending dinner with him, and the publicist responded, “What could possibly go wrong?” They met at his hotel suite, where he wore pajamas before dinner, she said, recounting in detail the layout of the room.
During her testimony, Mr. Trump both whispered into the ear of his lawyer, Todd Blanche, and leaned back in his chair, his eyes closed.
