Ex-Trump Assistant Suddenly Cries on the Stand

Madeleine Westerhout, former assistant to ex-President Donald Trump, suddenly began to cry on the witness stand while testifying in Trump's hush money trial in New York City on Thursday.

The Context

Trump, the presumptive 2024 GOP presidential nominee, is facing 34 counts of falsifying business records related to hush money paid to adult-film star Stormy Daniels during the former president's 2016 presidential campaign.

The criminal case brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg alleges that Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 to keep her silent about an affair she had with Trump in 2006, which the former president denies. Trump is accused of reimbursing Cohen and concealing the payment as legal expenses.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges and claims the case is politically motivated. This case is the first of Trump's four criminal indictments to go to trial. Trump also maintains his innocence in the three other cases against him.

What We Know

On the 14th day of the Trump trial, Westerhout, who served as director of Oval Office operations in 2019 and remains a Trump loyalist, was called to the stand. Before the director post, Westerhout was Trump's executive assistant upon getting hired in 2017.

Westerhout was fired from the Trump White House after she reportedly bragged to journalists at an off-the-record dinner that she had a better relationship with Trump than his own daughters, Ivanka Trump and Tiffany Boulos (then-Trump). It was also reported that she told journalists that Trump did not like being photographed with Tiffany because he perceived her to be overweight.

When asked about the dinner with reporters by the prosecution, "she begins crying while talking about her regret for her 'youthful indiscretion,' Newsweek reporter Katherine Fung, who was inside the courtroom, wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Westerhout said that she had learned a lot from that experience, before being asked about the 2020 book she wrote, Off the Record: My Dream Job at the White House, How I Lost It, and What I Learned, which describes Trump in a favorable light.

Fung reported that she began to sob again.

"I thought it was really important to share with the American people the man I got to know," she said through tears. "I don't think he's treated fairly."

During cross-examination with Trump attorney Susan Necheles, Westerhout called Trump "amazing," adding, "I just found him really enjoyable to work for."

The Views

MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin pointed out how differently Necheles treated Westerhout than Daniels when she was on the stand this week.

"I'm not saying the grace Necheles showed the graceful Westerhout, who was 28 when she left the White House, was undeserved. But boy does it stand in marked contrast to her treatment of the then-27-year-old whose sexual encounter with Trump so distressed her that her hands shook as she put her shoes back on," Rubin wrote on X.

MSNBC host Katie Phang accused Trump's team of trying to "slut-shame" Daniels during cross-examination.

"It was a bad defense strategy to try to 'slut-shame' Stormy Daniels today on cross for her professional choices. Directly accusing her of being a liar because she works in the adult film industry was a poor decision," Phang wrote on X.

She continued: "The defense suggests that just because Daniels chooses to be a part of that industry, then she couldn't possibly be offended by a half-naked, 'older' man who invited her to dinner, began the evening in satin pajamas, and then stripped his clothes to a t-shirt and boxers when she was in the bathroom," referring to Trump.

What's Next

Trump's trial is expected to continue for about two more weeks. Westerhout will return to the stand when court resumes Friday morning.

It was revealed Thursday afternoon that former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who was on the potential witness list for the trial, will not be called to testify.

McDougal, who claims to have had an affair with Trump in 2006, was paid $150,000 by the National Enquirer's parent company, American Media Inc., to buy the rights to her story about the rumored 10-month affair. The media company never published the story, part of an alleged scheme to kill negative press about Trump during his 2016 campaign. Trump denies the affair with McDougal.

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass said that the district attorney's office never planned to call McDougal as a witness, Fung reported.

Update 5/9/24, 5:43 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.