Trump saves fireworks for outside court on first day of fraud trial

Trump was a quiet presence inside court, but outside he said ‘deranged’ judge overseeing case ‘should be out of office’

Not many defendants would dare to brand the judge overseeing their case “deranged”, call for them to be kicked out of office and dismiss the suit against them as a “witch-hunt”. Not many defendants are Donald Trump.

On the first day of a civil fraud case that could decide the future of his business career, Trump cut an angry, uncomfortable figure. “This is a judge that should be out of office,” he told reporters as the court broke for lunch. “This is a judge that some people say could be charged criminally for what he’s doing.”

In court, in a navy suit and light blue tie, Trump was a quieter presence. Hunched at times and conferring with his lawyers, he mostly listened quietly as lawyers for the New York attorney general outlined their case.