'He sets people off': Here’s what prospective hush money jurors said about Trump

17 April 2024

Despite former President Donald Trump's many attempts to delay his first criminal trial, jury selection got underway in a Manhattan courtroom on Monday, April 15 and continued the following day.

Justice Juan Merchan had a stern warning for the former president on the trial's second day, saying, "He was gesturing, and he was speaking in the direction of the juror. I will not have any jurors intimidated in this courtroom."

Yet by the end of the day, seven jurors had been selected — including, among others, two attorneys, an oncology nurse and a software engineer.

The Guardian's Victoria Bekiempis, in an article published on April 17, describes the types of questions that prospective jurors have been asked by prosecutors for the Manhattan District Attorney's Office as well as Trump's legal team, including attorney Todd Blanche.

When Merchan asked 96 prospective jurors if they were incapable of being fair and impartial, more than 50 raised their hands — and were excused. According to Bekiempis, Blanche's "questioning of potential jurors... boiled down to: what is your opinion of Donald Trump?"

One of them told Blanche, "I find him fascinating. He walks into a room, and he sets people off, one way or another. And I find that really interesting. Really, this one guy could do all this?"

Another prospective juror, asked his opinion of Trump, said, "If we were sitting at a bar, I'd be happy to tell you. But in this room, what I feel about President Trump is not important or inherent to either the case you're presenting or you're defending…. Look, I'll say, I'm a Democrat. So there you go, that's where it goes with me…. (But) I walk in here, and he's a defendant."

According to Bekiempis, another prospective juror seemed to appreciate Trump's brashness despite disagreeing with him politically.

The woman said, "I don't really care for the views, to be completely honest with you…. (But) President Trump speaks his mind."

Read Victoria Bekiempis' full report for The Guardian at this link.

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