Part of this
strategy is not only just
going on monologues,
it seems from the stand somewhat,
but also not
even answering the questions,
which is what has brought
about this admonishment from the judge.
Let me bring in David Chalian, CNN's
political director on this.
And here's a quote for you, David,
just showing, as Christine was saying,
how the legal and the political
in terms of the campaign,
they've become the same thing.
Here's the quote from Trump.
I'm sure the judge will rule against me
because he always rules against
me, says Trump.
That sounds very familiar
from what
we've heard from the campaign trail.
You hear it
all the time on the campaign trail.
And the judge, of course,
as you guys noted earlier, said
that's not factually true
to Donald Trump,
who was on the stand there.
You can't separate these two.
This is
the dominant frontrunner
for the Republican nomination
and the currently leading candidate
to be elected president
next year,
running against the incumbent,
Joe Biden, according to recent polls.
And yet he finds himself on this day
in this courtroom,
in this historic nature.
And guys, I don't think it is
despite his legal challenges
that he is still maintaining this lead.
I think it is in part because of them.
We have seen Donald Trump
be able to use his utilize lies,
his legal peril,
his legal challenges
as a fortifying force for Republicans.
And that is what we see
in all the public data out there,
which is
this fortified world
of Republicans
around Trump, both in the primary context
and how that benefits him
in the general election context.
Whereas Joe Biden does
not have that fortified force
among Democrats.
So these
trials are playing directly
into his hands here.
David, stand by.
Let's get back out to the courthouse.
Paula Reed's got some more detail
from inside. What's happening
This is getting pretty heated.
The judge asking Trump's lawyer, quote,
Can you control your client?
This is not a political rally.
This coming from our colleagues
or inside the courtroom
watching this live.
The judge
forcing Trump's lawyer, Chris, guys
to talk to the former president
the former president, we're reading here.
Apparently waved his arms
at any suggestion
of taking a ten minute break.
He is sitting back in his chair.
We're told just pursing his lips
in that sort of classic Trump smile.
Trump's lawyers assuring the judge
that their client, quote, understands
the rules
The judge shot back and said, well,
he doesn't abide by them.
Now, apparently
they're back into questioning,
but this is getting pretty heated.
If there was any question
about whether the former president
could remain
composed on the stand
or refrain from attacking prosecutors.
The judge.
Well,
it's pretty clear
he and the judge
sort of getting into it here.
The judge is especially frustrated
with Trump's
inability to focus
and his lack of brevity.
I mean, something
that we've all seen many times
with the former president.
We are on the witness stand.
It's different.
This is not social media.
This is not a campaign rally.
This is the judge's courtroom.
And he has repeatedly asked
the former president
not to engage in, quote, speeches
or essays.
It looks like
they're continually questioning.
They're not taking a break.
And the former president's
lawyer assuring the judge
that his client understands the rules.
All right, Paula,
keep us posted,
because this is, as you said,
getting interesting
and getting heated and may
come to a head soon. Honing
you know,
this is now several times
the judge has gone back
and asking
Trump's attorney, Christopher Cox,
can you control your client?
Yeah, I think it's interesting,
by the way,
that the judge is not directly speaking
to Donald Trump, the witness,
which he can do.
Judges give instructions
directly to witnesses all the time.
What do you think is.
He's I think he's trying
to create some separation, some distance.
I think the judge does not want to make
this judgment on versus Donald Trump.
And so that's why the Trump
the judge is saying to Trump's lawyers,
can you all do anything?
Can you please control him?
It's really important to understand
the judge has fairly
limited enforcement powers here.
Usually the fact that there's
somebody sitting up
high on the bench in a black
robe is more than enough
to get a witness, to comply,
to listen in the courtrooms
set up that way for a reason.
But when you have a witness like this
who is just dead
set on it, you can admonish,
you can warn,
you can strike testimony, meaning
take it off the record.
But ultimately,
that's really all that the judge can do.
And so
this will be an interesting dance here
between the judge
and Trump
that 36 minutes in
and it's already
at a pretty high temperature.
Absolutely.
Well,
there are some other statements
that are coming out.
I mean, we're getting so much so quickly.
I'm going to take a couple steps
back to go forward
because there during questioning as well,
it seems Donald Trump has hinted at what
the future,
their future defense
I guess, during this line of questioning
may be.
This is full screen, five or six
just for the control room
where Donald Trump says
when it comes to
he says, we're going to explain
that as this trial goes along,
this crazy trial goes along
because we're bringing in the bankers,
very big bankers.
They'll explain
exactly what their process is.
They were not really documents
that the banks paid much attention to.
They looked at the deal.
This kind of.
Jeremy Freeland is with us as well.
This speaks to the facts and figures
that need to
that is part of this line of questioning
that they're trying to have.
And Donald Trump saying that
he thinks that he's
going to be bringing in big bankers
to prove his case.
I don't
know what big bankers means exactly, but
the bottom line here,
this is playing all into the attorney
general's hands.
I mean, this is this is what they want.
They're not here to debate politics and
and what's going to happen
outside the courtroom.
And in an election,
they're looking at the four corners
of that courtroom
and whether they can prove their case
and going on tirades
and talking about big bankers
and going after the judge
does nothing for his credibility.
Does nothing to dispute
the allegations,
does not bring new facts
and evidence into play.
So all of this really hurts Donald Trump.
But you don't bring me on to be
a mental health professional.
But I do wonder
whether or not the former
president understands
the gravity of of what he's doing.
And I think also, at the same time,
he is more afraid of this case.
Because he thinks that
the other matters, he's
never going to see a day in jail
and it doesn't really matter.
This is his name. This is his future.
But he's he's going off the rails
from what we're hearing
about inside the courtroom.
Yeah.
All right.
Let's get back to the courthouse steps.
Kaitlan Collins is there.
And I understand, Caitlin.
Things have not improved
inside the courtroom
because they want to come to her.
No, they haven't.
And it's not really that surprising.
But so much of it is how
this is proceeding with Trump
being asked these questions,
not giving a direct answer,
certainly not in the judge's estimation
of what's happening there.
And he is getting incredibly frustrated.
He just
removed some of Trump's
comments from the records
where Trump was bragging
about how much cash he had.
The judge
essentially having
groaning here,
saying that
he is not only being filibustered
by the witness
the former president
who is on the stand right now,
but also he is saying by Chris Kyle,
Trump's attorney, who is in the room
and the judge is getting
incredibly frustrated.
He is now admonished Trump
in the middle of his statement.
Now, that has happened,
I believe, five to six times.
Trump has only been inside
that courtroom for about 39 minutes here.
And I think that is
what's notable here is just how quickly
this is devolved
into a bit of a chaotic situation.
What we do know
is that the prosecutors
don't seem to be getting
into the middle of this,
of what's happening
between the judge and Trump
and Trump's attorney, and instead
are continuing with the questioning.
I think one really interesting aspect of
this is obviously
what's at the heart of this
is that Trump overvalued
and inflated his assets
to get more favorable terms on his loans.
Trump is essentially
trying to claim that
actually these properties
were undervalued
and that sometimes
he questioned
the values of what was on these
these statements,
these financial statements,
saying that it was actually less
than what he thought it should be.
That is not
what the judge has already found here.
They have already found him
liable for fraud.
The question
is how much he has to pay in damages.
And he seems to be arguing
something different.
Of course,
the judge is also what matters here.
The judge getting frustrated
with Trump's questioning.
There's a jury inside that room, John,
and it is up to the judge here
who's already off on bad terms
with the judge.
And now it does not seem to be like
the former president
is trying to get on his good side in any
shape or form.