Donald Trump’s former top aide Hope Hicks broke down on the witness stand Friday at his hush money trial, during testimony where she also defended the former president’s relationship with wife Melania.
Hicks, 35 — former press secretary then top White House spokesperson to the ex-president — began crying after the first few questions by Emil Bove, a lawyer for the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
During the emotional moment Hicks dabbed her eyes with a tissue as Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan offered her a short break, which she accepted.
Althought it is not clear why she started to cry, Hicks had first become visibly flustered at the end of questioning by the prosecution, while answering questions about the $130,000 payment to porn star Stromy Daniels which is at the center of the trial.
She had testified she thought Trump thought felt “it was better to be dealing” with the situation in 2018 than before the 2016 presidential election.
Hicks also choked up when she got back on the witness stand while recalling her time working for the Trump Organization.
Hicks had been on the stand for roughly four hours displaying composure while prosecutors grilled her on her time working for the ex-president beginning in 2015 and ending in 2022 — which she said is the last time she saw him.
Earlier, Hicks told jurors how Trump tried to ensure a Wall Street Journal article from Nov. 4, 2016 detailing allegations of an affair with Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal wouldn’t be seen by Melania.
“He was concerned about the story. He was concerned how it would be viewed by his wife,” Hicks said. “And he wanted to make sure the newspapers weren’t delivered to his residence that morning.”
Later, during follow-up by Bove, Hicks explained the reason Trump didn’t want Melania to see the McDougal article was because of how much he cares and respects her.
“President Trump really values Mrs. Trump’s opinion and she doesn’t weigh in all the time but when she does it’s really meaningful to him,” Hicks said.
“He really, really respects what she has to say. I think he was really concerned about what the perception of this would be and, yeah, I know that was weighing on him.”
Hicks added Trump didn’t want anyone from his family to “be hurt” by stories that were “going on in his campaign.”
Trump wished Melania a happy birthday from the courthouse last week while she was in Florida. She has not attended the first two weeks of trial.
Hicks — a former teen model, who admitted to having no experience before coming onto Trump’s team — also took a jab at Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen, who is expected to be the star prosecution witness against his longtime boss.
“He liked to call himself a fixer, or Mr. Fix It,” Hicks said.
“It’s only because he first broke it so he could fix it,” she added, to chuckles from the courtroom.
Earlier, Hicks laid out how Cohen was very involved in Trump’s media response denying the allegations of his affair with McDougal.
She explained that Cohen “wasn’t supposed to be on the campaign in any official capacity,” but he tried to “insert himself” anyway.
Cohen “wasn’t looped in on the day-to-day of campaign strategy” Hicks said of Cohen, adding he would go “rogue” and would do things that frustrated the campaign.
Hicks’ testimony wrapped later Friday afternoon.
Trump is on trial for allegedly falsifying business records to try to hide that he had Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 in the run-up to the 2016 election to keep her quiet about claims she had slept with Trump while he was married. He has pleaded not guilty to 43 charges of falsigying business records realted to the payment.
He’s repeatedly attacked the trial as political motivated meant to interfere with his election bid.
Leaving the court he railed against Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg and the Department of Justice.
“They’ve been after us for years — Democrats, the radical left — they’ve destroyed people’s lives.
“It’s a shame what they’ve done to this country. … These are vicious, vicious radical left lunatics,” he added.
The trial is set to resume with a new witness Monday morning.
