Trump trial shows he belongs 'in the gutter' rather than 'on a throne'

Now that Donald Trump's New York hush money criminal trial is underway, his "fragile" ego is set to go through a "lengthy battering," according to columnist Amanda Marcotte.

This Monday, the "humiliations continued to pile on" Trump with the testimony from the first witness, former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker. "Even in this truncated day of court, the picture painted of Trump was not the regal leader of his fantasies, but who he actually is: A sleazy poseur who belongs to the world of trashy tabloids and scheming hucksters," Marcotte wrote for Salon.

According to Marcotte, the whole spectacle shows that Trump " is more suited to wallowing in the gutter than sitting on a throne."

Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo, Marcotte wrote, didn't hold back when describing the salacious details surrounding Trump's alleged crimes — the cheating on his wife, the hush money payments, the claim of an out-of-wedlock child, the conspiracy with the National Enquirer to "catch and kill" scandalous stories. ... Then there was Trump's defense attorney Todd Blanche.

"Trying to portray Trump as somehow above the shady people he surrounds himself with, Blanche sanctimoniously called Trump 'President Trump,' as if saying it makes it true. He tried to humanize his glowering orange lump of a client with, 'he’s a husband, he’s a father' and 'a person, just like you and just like me.' In contrast, Blanche attempted to discredit Michael Cohen, the aforementioned 'fixer' who has already served time for his role in this conspiracy, by calling Cohen a 'criminal.'" Marcotte stated in her op-ed.

Former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker testified Thursday that he believed Karen McDougal's accusations that she had an extensive affair with Donald Trump.

Answering questions from prosecutors, Pecker explained that he had "concerns" about the McDougal story and contacted Trump's ex-lawyer Michael Cohen.

"You should go ahead and buy this story," Cohen said, according to Pecker.

"I am going to have Dylan Howard negotiate the terms," Pecker recalled responding. He then asked: "Who's going to pay for it?"

Pecker claimed Cohen told him: "Don't worry. I'm your friend. The Boss will take care of it."

He went on to testify that he had concerns about the money.

"I said, 'Michael, why should I pay?'" adding that he told Cohen he'd already paid $30,000 to buy doorman Dino Sajudin's story that claimed Trump had fathered a love child with a Trump Tower maid.

"Now, you’re asking me to pay $150,000 for the Karen story and all of these additional items that she wants to do," Pecker recalled saying.

He then said that Trump called him personally.

"I spoke to Michael. Karen is a nice girl," Pecker said Trump told him.

“He said, ‘What do you think I should do?’ I said we should buy the story and take it off the market," he continued.

“I believed the story was true. I believed it would be very embarrassing to [Trump] ... and also his campaign,” Pecker explained.