Maggie Haberman Says Trump Defense Had ‘Best Day’ With Stormy Daniels — But Doubtful Jury Will ‘See Trump As a Victim Here’

New York Times correspondent and CNN analyst Maggie Haberman told CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins that while ex-President Donald Trump’s defense had one of its “best days” in the courtroom cross-examining Stormy Daniels, it’s doubtful the jury will be persuaded Trump is “a victim here.”

Tuesday at Trump’s hush money-election interference trial featured hours of bombshell testimony from Daniels, a failed motion for a mistrial, and ended in the middle of an intense defense cross-examination of Daniels by Trump attorney Susan Necheles. That cross resumes Thursday morning.

On Wednesday night’s edition of CNN’s The Source with Kaitlan Collins, Haberman said that Susan Necheles put “dents” in Daniels’s testimony during that cross, but said it might not make a difference to a jury not inclined to sympathize with Trump:

COLLINS: And you’ve reported, before all this started, the trial, that the hardest part you had heard from sources, of what Trump was going to have to — the part of this is not necessarily the outcome, but just sitting there–

HABERMAN: The process.

COLLINS: –and listening.

HABERMAN: Yes, there’s the process. It is everything from having to be in this really decrepit courthouse and courtroom, to having to listen to that, which — and that was what a lot of people around Trump were very concerned about him sitting through.

They weren’t positive that Stormy Daniels was going to get called. But they thought there was a chance of it. And they were concerned about what level of lurid detail would be gone into.

Todd Blanche’s argument was this was done, just to shock. The prosecutors argued otherwise.

I think the defense had one of its best days, yesterday, because Susan Necheles, in her cross-examination, and she’s not done with cross- examination, now they’ll resume tomorrow. She did get some dents into Stormy Daniels’ story.

But does it ultimately matter? I don’t know. Because we don’t know how the jury is viewing this.

And at the end of the day, Stormy Daniels still told the details, of that early encounter, the way she’s told it before, and the way she has told it in various forums. And, at the end of the day, that is what underlies this case, not other specifics related to — wants to make money, or whether, you know.

That is going to be the defense argument is that she is out to get money. I’m not sure that the jury will necessarily see Trump as a victim here.

Watch above via CNN’s The Source with Kaitlan Collins.