Stormy Daniels’s American Dream

When Donald Trump arrived at his criminal trial in lower Manhattan on Thursday morning, he was in a mischievous mood. He had on a blue shirt, a blue tie, and a navy suit jacket that resembled a spring day. As he passed by reporters in the courtroom gallery, he made a finger-gun gesture at Greg Kelly, a conservative Newsmax host, who smiled back reassuringly. However, when Stormy Daniels, a former adult-film actress, approached the witness stand for her second day of testimony, Trump's playful demeanor disappeared. He became serious and focused on Daniels, who wore a tight green dress with a black jacket and had her long blonde hair with glasses on top. She had a practical and professional look, like an efficient administrative manager in a CPA's office.

Stephanie Clifford, also known by her legal name Daniels, is an outspoken and friendly blonde woman. She has gained attention for giving her triple-D silicone breasts the humorous names "Thunder" and "Lightning." In 2006, she claims to have met the current US President at a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe and engaged in unsatisfactory sexual activity. Nearly a decade later, in the lead-up to the 2016 Presidential election, she accepted $130,000 to stay silent about the encounter. The payment was allegedly made by Michael Cohen, who was acting as Trump's lawyer and problem-solver at the time. Cohen paid Daniels and was later reimbursed by the Trump Organization under the guise of a retainer fee for undisclosed services. Trump faces 34 criminal charges for falsifying business records in order to hide the hush-money payment and protect himself from potentially damaging information being revealed before the election. Trump has pleaded not guilty to these charges.

During the Trump era, one of the noticeable characteristics was its comedic vulgarity. The former President's actions were often quite silly and distracting from the more serious political issues that his Administration faced. Some of these antics included providing fast food at a White House event, telling a young child that Santa Claus doesn't exist, and staring directly at a solar eclipse. Eventually, Trump will face trial for the various crimes he has been accused of, including his alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 Presidential election, his involvement in the January 6th insurrection, and his possible mishandling of classified documents. However, for now, we have Trump's hush-money trial in Manhattan, which feels like a twisted parody of modern-day America. The trial has brought us several interesting moments, such as Trump's former aide, Hope Hicks, crying on the witness stand, and the ex-National Enquirer publisher, David Pecker, explaining how difficult it was to get Trump to pay him back for killing various tabloid stories. Although this trial might seem like a diversion, it has the potential to make history by becoming the first guilty verdict for a former President in the United States. Surprisingly, Stormy Daniels might be the key player who leads us there. Who would have thought?

Daniels was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana to parents who split up when she was very young. When she was just seventeen, she started performing at a nearby strip club. By the time she was in her early twenties, she was a pornographic actress and one of the few women who wrote and directed adult films. In her 2018 book, "Full Disclosure," Daniels writes about her nomadic life, shuffling between homes and marriages, first in Louisiana, then in Los Angeles, Florida, Vegas, and Texas. She shares a standout memory of meeting the metal band Pantera in a Florida nightclub. She ended up tagging along with them on their tour bus for two weeks, referring to themselves as a "new circus family."

Despite appearing flighty, what stood out to me when reading "Full Disclosure" was Daniels' unwavering determination and courage. She had a rough upbringing, raised by a neglectful mother and facing sexual abuse as a child. Despite hardships, she found solace in horseback riding and excelling at school. Nonetheless, she knew that she needed money to create a good life, and so she became a hardworking machine. She worked six nights a week, taking on double shifts, at an early gig in a strip club. Daniels used her looks and sexuality to gain better wages and maximized her earning potential. For instance, she dyed her hair multiple times to conform to clients' preferences and invested in breast implants to increase her tips. Daniels also posed nude and ultimately transitioned into acting in adult films, which eventually led her to become a contract star for Wicked Pictures and even a writer and director for the company. Daniels succeeded in her pursuit of financial security in an industry that allowed her to leverage her assets, despite any stigma or societal judgments.

When Daniels and Trump first met in Lake Tahoe, she was already a well-known star in her industry at the age of 27. During her testimony in Trump's criminal trial on Tuesday, Daniels spoke with one of the prosecutors, Susan Hoffinger, and expressed her belief that Trump was attracted to her business skills. After meeting at a golf tournament where Wicked Pictures sponsored a hole, Trump invited Daniels to his suite where he asked her about the adult-film industry. Daniels said she was impressed by Trump's interest in the business side of things and recalled that he asked questions such as "Do you get residuals? Are there any unions?" As Eric Lach, a reporter for The New Yorker who has been following the trial, pointed out, this was a moment when "game recognized game." Donald Trump is known for his belief in capitalism, so it was not surprising to see him take an interest in the business side of the adult-film industry.

Back then, Trump was the presenter of the TV show "The Apprentice," which was in its fifth season. He suggested to Daniels that she should come on the show to prove that she was more than just a "dumb bimbo." Daniels was skeptical at first but became interested in exploring new career opportunities outside of the adult-film industry. She believed that appearing on the show could have boosted her career. However, things took a different turn when, according to Daniels' claims, Trump was waiting for her on the bed in his suite. He was wearing boxer shorts and a T-shirt. Daniels thought that she had misunderstood the situation, and the encounter was consensual but unenjoyable. Daniels hoped that she could still appear on "The Apprentice" and stayed in contact with Trump, but their relationship didn't progress any further. Trump eventually told her that she couldn't participate on the show, and Daniels moved on with her life, no longer answering Trump's calls.

In 2011, Daniels found out that her story about Trump had been leaked to the press and she decided to take control of the situation. She wanted to make sure the story was accurate and also benefit financially from it. She shared her experience with Trump with In Touch Weekly but the magazine didn't publish it until 2018. Apparently, Michael Cohen forced the magazine to drop the story in 2011 and even threatened legal action if it was published. Daniels also claims that she was threatened in a parking lot while carrying her baby. Years later, Daniels contacted the National Enquirer to sell her story again as Trump was facing negative publicity due to the "Access Hollywood" tape scandal. Cohen paid her to sign a nondisclosure agreement but in 2018, he started to share his account of the Trump presidency, including the Daniels hush-money tale. Daniels believed that the NDA was no longer valid and so she began to speak out. She expressed frustration that Cohen was profiting from his account of events, while she couldn't even defend herself.