'Performative' Alina Habba cost Trump 'an incredible amount of money': former RNC chairman

Donald Trump attorney Alina Habba's abrasive behavior and her decision to defend the former president in the E. Jean Carroll defamation trial with an eye on pleasing him, and not trying to convince a jury, in the end cost her client tens of millions of dollars..

That is the opinion of former Republican National Committee chair Michael Steele, which he explained as part of his duties hosting MSNBC's "The Weekend."

During a panel discussion on the stunning $83.3 million judgment levied against the former president on Friday, Steele stated he wanted to focus on Habba and shared a clip of her combative impromptu press conference outside the courthouse after the verdict was read.

Noting that Habba claimed defending Trump was "the proudest thing I could ever do," Steele reminded viewers of Habba's previous claims that she would rather be "pretty than smart" to which she replied, "pretty" because she can "fake being smart."

After introducing the clip by stating, "One of the things I found very fascinating as we looked at the professionals in the room, E. Jean Carroll's lawyer, and those who were laying out the case before the judge, the jury, and then there is Alina Habba, I would like to play her response to this verdict," he continued afterward with, "I recall a comment that she made at one point where she was asked, would you rather be pretty or smart, and a response was, I would rather be pretty because I can fake being smart."

Laughing he continued, "So the reality of it is that you need to be smart in the courtroom. You need to understand that her reaction a lot of times shocked."

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"It was performative, and it was to appease Trump, it was not to deal with the facts that were at hand, and first off, this was not a case where you are trying to prevent him from being judged a sexual predator," he explained. "That had already taken place. This was about something very different. She seemed to be out of sorts with what her mission was, and actually wound up costing her client I think an incredible amount of money."

Watch below or at the link.