Trump forced to listen silently to people insulting him as he trades a cocoon of adulation for court

NEW YORK -- He seems "selfish and self-serving,” said 1 woman.

The mode helium carries himself successful nationalist "leaves thing to beryllium desired," said another.

His “negative rhetoric and bias," said different man, is what is “most harmful."

Over the past week, Donald Trump has been forced to beryllium wrong a frigid New York courtroom and perceive to a parade of imaginable jurors successful his transgression hush wealth proceedings stock their unvarnished assessments of him.

It’s been a melodramatic departure for the erstwhile president and presumptive GOP nominee, who is accustomed to spending his days successful a cocoon of cheering crowds and changeless adulation. Now a transgression defendant, Trump volition alternatively walk the adjacent respective weeks subjected to strict rules that portion him of power implicit everything from what helium is permitted to accidental to the somesthesia of the room.

“He’s the entity of derision. It's his nightmare. He can't power the script. He can't power the cinematography. He can't power what's being said astir him. And the result could spell successful a absorption helium truly doesn't want," said Tim O'Brien, a Trump biographer and critic.

While Trump is occasionally confronted by protesters, mostly helium lives a beingness sheltered from criticism. After leaving the White House, Trump moved to his Mar-a-Lago waterfront nine successful Palm Beach, Florida, wherever helium is surrounded by doting paid unit and dues-paying members who person shelled retired tens of thousands of dollars to beryllium adjacent him.

Many days, Trump heads to his adjacent play course, wherever helium is "swarmed by radical wanting to shingle his hand, instrumentality pictures of him, and archer him however astonishing helium is,” said Stephanie Grisham, a longtime adjutant who broke with Trump aft the storming of the Capitol connected Jan. 6, 2021.

When helium returns to Mar-a-Lago successful the afternoon, members lunching connected the patio often basal and applaud. He receives the aforesaid lasting ovation astatine dinner, which often ends with Trump playing DJ connected his iPad, blasting favorites similar “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” by James Brown.

Grisham, who spent agelong stretches traveling with Trump and astatine Mar-a-Lago during his 2016 run and arsenic White House property secretary, described unit perpetually serving arsenic cheerleaders and telling Trump what helium wanted to hear. To debar aggravated outbursts, they requested motorcade routes that avoided protests and near a stack of affirmative property clips each greeting connected the Resolute Desk successful the Oval Office.

Now, Trump faces a proceedings that could effect successful felony convictions and imaginable situation time. And helium volition person to perceive to much critics, without being capable to punch backmost verbally — thing helium revels successful doing.

Among the expected witnesses successful the proceedings are his erstwhile lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, and the porn histrion who alleged she had enactment with him, Stormy Daniels. Both person savaged him successful interviews and books arsenic good arsenic connected societal media.

Trump run spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said Trump proved during his archetypal week successful tribunal that “he volition stay defiant successful the look of this unprecedented governmental lawfare” and said, “It is wide that his enactment from the American radical volition lone turn arsenic they ticker Joe Biden, Alvin Bragg and the Democrats putting connected this bogus amusement proceedings six months earlier the election.”

New Yorkers who said they couldn't attack the lawsuit reasonably were excused during assemblage selection. But 1 of the women with the harshest assessments of him volition beryllium among those who volition find his destiny connected 34 counts of falsifying concern records.

“I don’t similar his persona, however helium presents himself successful public," said the woman, who has lived successful precocious Manhattan for the past 15 years. The pistillate said she didn't hold with immoderate of Trump's politics, which she called “outrageous."

“He conscionable seems precise selfish and self-serving, truthful I don’t truly admit that successful immoderate nationalist servant,” she said, adding that portion she doesn't “know him arsenic a person,” however helium "portrays himself successful public, it conscionable seems to maine it is not my cupful of tea.”

Trump’s ineligible squad took contented with her responses, but they were retired of challenges by the clip she was up for consideration.

Judge Juan Manuel Merchan has withheld the names of prospective jurors for information concerns.

On Friday, 1 prospective juror, who said she had attended the 2017 Women’s March protesting Trump’s inauguration, complained of the power helium has implicit his base.

“I deliberation his rhetoric astatine times enables radical to consciousness arsenic if they person support to discriminate oregon enactment connected their antagonistic impulses,” she said, citing radical she has heard marque homophobic oregon racist comments. Still, she said she didn’t person beardown feelings astir the erstwhile president and wasn’t definite of his existent argumentation positions.

Another antheral said he’d grown up admiring the erstwhile president and concern mogul's existent property portfolio and adjacent reasoning helium mightiness someday unrecorded successful Trump Tower. But helium had travel to reason Trump's “negative rhetoric and bias against radical that helium speaks about."

At different times, lawyers work aloud societal media posts from prospective jurors mocking Trump and celebrating his defeats.

One prospective juror, an older achromatic woman, was struck from the assemblage excavation by the justice aft Trump's ineligible squad uncovered years-old societal media posts that described Trump arsenic a “racist, sexist” narcissist.

One of Trump's attorneys called the posts "vitriolic.”

“She harbors a heavy hatred for him,” said the lawyer, Susan Necheles. “She said that ’I wouldn’t judge Donald Trump if his lingua were notarized'” and that helium was “anathema” to everything she was taught astir love.

Confronted with the posts wrong the courtroom, the juror said she understood wherefore they’d beryllium concerning to the defense, but her views had evolved. “Election policies tin get beauteous spicy and Mr. Trump tin get beauteous spicy,” she said.

Merchan, the judge, besides dismissed a antheral who successful 2017 had shared a Facebook station celebrating the decision of 1 of Trump's policies successful court. “Get him retired and fastener him up!” it work successful part.

Court rules necessitate Trump to beryllium contiguous passim the trial. He can't tempest retired of the courtroom similar helium did during a caller defamation trial. He is besides barred by a gag bid from attacking immoderate of the jurors, including connected his Truth Social platform.

He has already been admonished by Merchan for audibly uttering thing and gesturing portion 1 juror was answering questions.

"I volition not tolerate immoderate jurors being intimidated successful this courtroom,” said Merchan, who antecedently warned Trump helium could beryllium sent to jailhouse for engaging successful disruptive behaviour successful court.

Trump's assessments successful the courthouse weren't each bad, however, with a possibly astonishing fig of imaginable jurors saying they had nary beardown opinions astir 1 of the champion known and astir divisive men connected the planet.

In fact, the process seemed to uncover much supporters than mightiness beryllium expected successful a borough wherever President Joe Biden captured 87% of the ballot successful 2020.

One imaginable juror Thursday who spoke of Trump successful glowing presumption said helium was “impressed” with Trump's vocation arsenic a palmy businessman.

“I mean helium was our president, beauteous amazing. He is simply a businessman successful New York. He has forged his way, you know, helium made benignant of past successful presumption of similar wherever helium started and wherever helium has become," said the man, who said helium saw his ain communicative similarly.

On Tuesday, different antheral expressed regret that helium couldn’t juggle the proceedings with his job.

“Your Honor, arsenic overmuch arsenic I would emotion to service for New York and 1 of our large presidents, I could not springiness up my occupation for six-plus weeks,” helium said.

Many said they had work his publication “The Art of the Deal.”

Even the pistillate who criticized his persona and ended up connected the assemblage anyhow acknowledged his entreaty to voters.

“Sometimes the mode helium whitethorn transportation himself successful nationalist leaves thing to beryllium desired. At the aforesaid time, I tin subordinate to sometimes being a spot unfiltered,” she said. “I spot him talk to a batch of radical successful America. I deliberation determination is thing to beryllium said astir that.”

___ Associated Press writers Michael R. Sisak, Jennifer Peltz and Jake Offenhartz contributed to this report.