‘I hate that fact that we did it’: Key takeaways from Trump’s day in court

Donald Trump was back in court again on Thursday during his third week of the hush money trial in Manhattan, where jurors heard bombshell recordings between Mr Trump and his former personal attorney Michael Cohen.

The former president’s legal team attempted to defend Mr Trump over his gag order violations on Thursday. Earlier this week, Judge Juan Merchan fined him $9,000 for repeated violations of the order, which bars him from talking about foreseeable witnesses or staff of the judge or DA’s office. Ironically, after court adjourned for the day, Mr Trump falsely claimed to reporters that he was not “allowed to testify” because of the gag order.

The court also saw a different side of Michael Cohen, who has previously been described in the Manhattan courthouse as “excitable” and “pants on fire.”

One witness said he thought Cohen “was going to kill himself” after Cohen found out that Mr Trump, Cohen’s long-term client, wasn’t considering him for top roles in his White House administration.

Here are some takeaways from another day at the hush money trial:

Mr Trump’s legal team painted him as a victim, trying to turn the tables days after Judge Juan Merchan fined the former president$9,000 for violating a gag order.

Defence attorney Todd Blanche accused Cohen of “inviting and almost daring Trump to respond to everything he’s saying”. He showed a series of Cohen’s posts to the judge, including calling Mr Trump“Von Sh**zInPantz.”

Mr Blanche also groaned about comments that Joe Biden made at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. “Donald has had a few tough days lately, you might call it stormy weather,” the president said.

Judge Merchan dismissed the argument, saying that there is “nothing in the gag order that says he