Trump is being forced to endure insults from the public in silence while trading his courtship for a cocoon of praise

One lady described him as “selfish and self-serving.”

His public persona “leaves something to be desired,” another person said.

What is “most harmful” is his “negative rhetoric and bias,” according to another individual.

Donald Trump has been had to sit through a week of hearings in a cold New York courtroom as a procession of prospective jurors in his criminal hush money trial have given their frank opinions of him.

For the former president and likely GOP candidate, who is used to living his days in a bubble of applauding supporters and unceasing praise, it has been a drastic shift. Now that he is a criminal defendant, Trump will instead have to spend the next several weeks according to stringent regulations that deprive him of any authority over everything, even the temperature of the room and what he may say.

“People make fun of him. It’s his worst dream. The script is beyond his control. He is powerless over the cinematography. What others say about him is beyond his control. And the result can go in a direction he truly doesn’t want,” critic and biography of Trump Tim O’Brien said.

Even while demonstrators sometimes approach Trump, he usually leads a life shielded from criticism. Trump relocated to his Mar-a-Lago beachfront club in Palm Beach, Florida, after leaving the White House, where he is surrounded by devoted paid staff and dues-paying members who have spent tens of thousands of dollars to be close to him.

Whenever Trump goes to his local golf course, “he gets swarmed by people who want to shake his hand, take pictures of him, and tell him how amazing he is,” according to Stephanie Grisham, a former aide who severed ties with the president after the January 6, 2021, Capitol storming.

Members dining al fresco on the terrace regularly rise and cheer when he comes to Mar-a-Lago in the afternoon. At dinner, he gets the same standing ovation, and often finishes with Trump using his iPad as a DJ to play hits like James Brown’s “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World.”

As the press secretary for the White House and someone who traveled extensively with Trump throughout his 2016 campaign, Grisham spoke of staff members who were like cheerleaders, always giving Trump what he wanted to hear. They asked for motorcade routes that bypassed protestors in order to prevent furious outbursts, and they put a stack of favorable news clippings on the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office every morning.

Trump is now facing a trial that may lead to criminal charges and perhaps jail time. In addition, he won’t be able to respond angrily vocally, which he loves to do, and he would have to listen to more critiques.

Stormy Daniels, the porn star who claimed to have had sex with Trump, and Michael Cohen, his former attorney and fixer, are likely to testify during the trial. Both have berated him harshly on social media, in books, and in interviews.

Speaking for the Trump campaign, Karoline Leavitt stated that the American people’s support for Trump will only increase as they witness Joe Biden, Alvin Bragg, and the Democrats stage this phony show trial six months before the election. Trump demonstrated during his first week in court that “he will remain defiant in the face of this unprecedented political lawfare.”

During jury selection, New Yorkers who claimed they couldn’t handle the case fairly were given an out. But among those who will decide his fate on 34 charges of fabricating company documents is one of the ladies who has the worst opinions about him.

The lady, who has spent the previous fifteen years living in upper Manhattan, said, “I don’t like his persona, how he presents himself in public.” The lady labeled several of Trump’s political stances “outrageous,” and she said that she disagreed with them.

“I don’t really appreciate that in any public servant,” the woman said, noting that while she doesn’t “know him as a person,” she “just seems to me it is not my cup of tea” because of how he “portrays himself in public.”

Although her comments drew criticism from Trump’s legal staff, by the time she was up for consideration, their objections had run out.

For reasons of safety, Judge Juan Manuel Merchan has decided not to reveal the names of potential jurors.

On Friday, a potential juror expressed dissatisfaction with Trump’s influence on his supporters, claiming to have participated in the 2017 Women’s March against his inauguration.

She mentioned persons she had heard make homophobic or racist remarks. “I think his rhetoric at times enables people to feel as though they have permission to discriminate or act on their negative impulses,” she added. She acknowledged that she didn’t really like for the previous president and that she didn’t know what his current ideas on policy were.

Another guy claimed to have grown up appreciating the former president and business tycoon’s real estate holdings and even had dreams of moving into Trump Tower in the future. However, he has come to disagree with Trump’s “bias and negative rhetoric against the people he speaks about.”

Occasionally, attorneys read aloud social media messages made by potential juries making fun of Trump and rejoicing in his losses.

The court eliminated an elderly white lady who was a potential juror from consideration after Trump’s legal team discovered past social media remarks that labeled the president as a “racist, sexist” narcissist.

“Vitriolic” was how one of Trump’s lawyers described the postings.

“She has a strong animosity towards him,” the attorney Susan Necheles said. She said that Trump was “anathema” to all she had been taught about love and that “I wouldn’t believe him if his tongue were notarized.”

When confronted with the postings inside the courtroom, the juror said that she could see why the defense could find them unsettling, but her opinions had changed. She said, “Mr. Trump can get pretty spicy, and election policies can get pretty spicy.”

The individual who had uploaded a Facebook post in 2017 commemorating the legal loss of one of Trump’s measures was also disqualified by Merchan, the judge. Part of it said, “Get him out and lock him up!”

Trump must attend the whole trial in accordance with court procedures. Unlike when he stormed out of a recent slander trial, he cannot leave the courtroom. A gag order prevents him from criticizing any jury, even on his Truth Social platform.

Merchan has previously reprimanded him for making noise and making gestures during a juror’s questioning.

Merchan, who had threatened to put Trump in prison for being disruptively in court, said, “I will not tolerate any jurors being intimidated in this courtroom.”

Trump’s evaluations in the courtroom weren’t entirely negative, however, as a surprisingly large proportion of prospective jurors said they didn’t have strong feelings about one of the most well-known and controversial persons in the world.

In a borough where President Joe Biden received 87% of the vote in 2020, the approach actually seemed to identify more supporters than would be predicted.

A prospective juror on Thursday expressed admiration for Trump and said he was “impressed” by his accomplishments as a businessman.

He was our president, which was very incredible. He is a New York-based businessman. The guy added, “I saw my own story similarly. He has forged his way, you know, he made kind of history in terms of like where he started and where he has become.”

Another guy regretted on Tuesday that he was unable to balance the trial with his work.

He remarked, “Your Honor, as much as I would love to serve as one of our great presidents and serve for New York, I could not give up my job for more than six weeks.”

Many claimed to have read “The Art of the Deal,” his book.

His attraction to voters was recognized even by the lady who questioned his demeanor and ended up serving on the jury.

“There are moments when his public demeanor leaves much to be desired. However, I can see how you could sometimes be a little too raw,” she said. “In America, I saw him talk to a lot of people. I believe there is a point to be made on it.