Donald Trump silences money trial: Ex-president points and waves to Manhattan crowd before second day of jury selection

Donald Trump seemed unfazed by the prospect of a grueling second day of jury selection as he left Trump Tower Monday morning.

The former president appeared in high spirits as he strolled out of his Manhattan residence and prepared for the trip downtown to court.

Wearing a striped blue tie and light blue shirt, he waved and pointed to the crowd in the street before joining the motorcade.

On Monday, he was warned by the judge that he could be jailed for bad behavior and warned that he might have to skip son Barron’s matriculation.

Despite being stuck in court, he collected more than a million dollars in donations during the first day of the criminal trial in Manhattan, said his daughter-in-law Lara.

The co-chairman of the Republican National Committee said the average contribution was $28, ripping into the hush money case.

“The people of America spoke yesterday in support of Donald Trump to a million and a half dollars raised for his campaign,” she told Fox and Friends on Tuesday morning.

The average donation was $28, so even here, in the abysmal Biden economy, people are coming out and supporting this president financially.”

Hundreds of potential jurors will return to court this morning to go through the grueling process of getting on the panel.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to falsifying business records to help cover up an alleged affair with porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election.

Wearing a striped blue tie and light blue shirt, he waved and pointed to the crowd in the street before joining the motorcade

Despite being stuck in court, he collected more than $1 million in donations during the first day of the criminal trial in Manhattan, said his daughter-in-law Lara

The marathon task of trying America’s most famous man: Trump ‘smiled’ as he became the first ex-president to stand trial

By ROB CRILLY, SENIOR US POLITICAL REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM AT MANHATTAN CRIMINAL COURT, NEW YORK

The first trial of a former US president did not begin with fireworks, angry polemics or theatrics.

It began with a moment of quiet solemnity as 96 potential jurors were sworn in at Manhattan Criminal Court on Monday afternoon.

And then half were dismissed after admitting there was no possible way they could stop their strong feelings about Donald Trump getting in the way of a fair trial.

Trump, whose norm-shattering time in office has given way to a precedent that shattered the post-presidency, was grim about much of the proceedings.

‘You are about to participate in a trial by jury. The system of trial by jury is one of the cornerstones of our justice system,’ Judge Juan Merchan told dozens of potential jurors before him.

Former US President Donald Trump became the first former president to stand trial when a jury was sworn in Monday afternoon in Manhattan Criminal Court

Trump gave a thumbs up to reporters as he left the courtroom during a break in the proceedings

‘The name of this case is People of the State of New York vs. Donald Trump.’

As he described in broad strokes the basis of the case — that Trump tampered with business records to hide payments allegedly made to silence ex-lovers ahead of the 2016 election — some jurors craned their necks for an overview of the blonde haired figure. in front of them.

Trump stood and turned to look at them as Merchan introduced him and his legal team. The former president offered a wry smile as he surveyed New Yorkers on who could hold the fate of the 2024 election in their hands.

Merchan read off a list of potential witnesses or other names that could come up during the trial, from Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal (two women at the center of the case) to family members like Melania and Don Jr, to former Trump lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Michael Cohen , and officials in his White House such as Reince Priebus.

It will be hard to find a dozen men and women (plus alternates) who do not have strong opinions about Trump or the witnesses. Especially in a liberal enclave like Manhattan, where Trump only won 12 percent of the vote in 2020.

In fact, the judge has set an easier task: finding a dozen people who can put their emotions aside to make a verdict based only on the evidence before them.

Or maybe not.

When he asked the first group of potential jurors if they could be impartial in the case, 50 immediately raised their hands and were excused.

Trump turned and craned his neck to watch them leave the 1530 courtroom and whispered to his lead attorney Todd Blanche.