Donald Trump hush money trial: Ex-president points and waves to Manhattan crowd before second day of jury selection

Donald Trump didn't seem fazed by the prospect of a gruelling second day of jury selection as he left Trump Tower on Monday morning.

The former president seemed in high spirits as he strolled out of his Manhattan residence and prepared for the trip downtown to court.

Wearing a striped blue tie and light blue shirt, he waved and pointed to the crowd on the street before joining the motorcade.

On Monday he was warned by the judge that he could be jailed for misbehaving and slammed warnings that he may have to skip son Barron's high school graduation.

Donald Trump didn't seem fazed by a gruelling second day of jury selection as he left Trump Tower on Monday morning

Despite being stuck in court, he raised more than a $1million in donations during the first day of the Manhattan criminal trial, his daughter-in-law Lara said.

The co-chair of the Republican National Committee said the average contribution was $28, and ripped into the hush-money case.

'The people of America spoke up yesterday in support of Donald Trump to the tune of a million and a half dollars raised for his campaign,' she told Fox and Friends on Tuesday morning.

The average donation was $28, so even here, in the abysmal Biden economy, people are coming out and they are financially supporting this president'.

Hundreds of potential jurors will return to the court this morning to go through the gruelling process of getting on the panel.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to falsifying business records to help cover up an alleged affair with porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election.

Wearing a striped blue tie and light blue shirt, he waved and pointed to the crowd on the street before joining the motorcade

Despite being stuck in court, he raised more than a $1million in donations during the first day of the Manhattan criminal trial, his daughter-in-law Lara said

The marathon task of trying America's most famous man: Trump 'smirked' as he became the first ex-president to stand trial 

By ROB CRILLY, SENIOR U.S. POLITICAL REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM AT MANHATTAN CRIMINAL COURT, NEW YORK

The first trial of a former U.S. president began not with fireworks, angry polemic or theatrics.

It began with a moment of quiet solemnity as 96 prospective jurors were sworn in at Manhattan criminal court on Monday afternoon.

And then half were dismissed after admitting there was no possible way they could stop their strong feelings about Donald Trump getting in the way of a fair verdict.

Trump, whose norm-busting time in office has given way to a precedent shattering post-presidency, sat grim faced through much of the proceedings.

'You are about to participate in a trial by jury. The system of trial by jury is one the cornerstones of our judicial system,' Judge Juan Merchan told the dozens of potential jurors arrayed before him.

Former American President Donald Trump became the first former president to go on trial when a jury was sworn in on Monday afternoon in Manhattan criminal court

Trump gave a thumbs up to reporters as he left the courtroom during a break in proceedings

'The name of this case is the People of the State of New York vs. Donald Trump.'

As he described in broad brush strokes the basis of the case—that Trump fiddled business records to hide payments allegedly made to silence ex lovers ahead of the 2016 election—some of the jurors craned their necks to get a view of the blond-haired figure in front of them.

Trump stood and turned to look at them when Merchan introduced him and his legal team. The former president offered a tight-lipped smile as he surveyed the New Yorkers who could hold the fate of the 2024 election in their hands. 

Merchan read a list of potential witnesses or other names that could come up during the trial, from Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal (two women at the center of the case) to family members such as Melania and Don Jr, to former Trump lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Michael Cohen, and officials in his White House such as Reince Priebus.

Finding a dozen men and women (plus alternates) who do not hold strong opinions about Trump or the witnesses will be hard. Especially in a liberal enclave like Manhattan where Trump won just 12 percent of the vote in 2020.

In fact the judge has set an easier task: Finding a dozen people who can set aside their feelings to decide a verdict on only the evidence before them.

Or maybe not.

When he asked the first batch of potential jurors whether or not they could not be impartial in the case, 50 immediately raised their hands and were excused.

Trump turned and craned his neck to watch them leave courtroom 1530, whispering to his lead lawyer Todd Blanche.