U.S. pauses Israel arms shipment and Stormy Daniels testifies in Trump trial: Morning Rundown
NBCMay 02
The Facts
Adult film actress Stormy Daniels testified for almost five hours Tuesday in former Pres. Donald Trump's New York trial for allegedly falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment made to Daniels — the first-ever criminal trial of a former US president.
At issue is a 2016 pre-Election Day $130K payment made by Michael Cohen — who was Trump's lawyer — to Daniels and Trump's classification of his reimbursement payment to Cohen as a legal expense.
The Spin
Anti-Trump narrative
Daniels turned the tables on Trump with her detailed and explicit testimony. The defense's strategy of questioning Daniels' credibility and accusing her of lying is far-fetched considering they're defending a client with a propensity for being loose with the truth. This is the type of spectacle the US can expect for years to come if it reelects Trump.
Pro-Trump narrative
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's political persecution of Trump has hit a new low with Daniels' obscene testimony. Aside from Daniels' lack of credibility, her testimony was irrelevant to the matter at hand, which is whether Trump falsified documents. She was brought in just to slander the presumptive Republican nominee for political reasons.