Stormy Daniels, the adult film actor, broke her silence following former US president Donald Trump’s conviction, stating in an interview published in British tabloid The Mirror over the weekend that he should be jailed.
“I think he should be sentenced to jail and some community service working for the less fortunate, or being the volunteer punching bag at a women’s shelter,” Daniels said in the interview, published late on Saturday.
A jury of 12 New Yorkers found Trump guilty on Thursday of 34 counts of business fraud related to covering up hush money payments to Daniels just before the 2016 presidential election. Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, was paid $130,000 to stay silent and prevent a scandal before the election, where Trump narrowly defeated Hillary Clinton.
After years of exchanging insults with Trump on social media, Daniels says she finally feels “vindicated,” though she was “shocked” at how quickly the jury reached a decision. This verdict made Trump the first former US president to be convicted of a crime. Daniels also accused Trump, who is seeking to return to the White House, of being “completely and utterly out of touch with reality,” comparing him to a child at one point during the interview.
The former adult film actor and director provided gripping testimony in court, which included graphic descriptions of a casual sexual encounter she says occurred in 2006. “Being in court was so intimidating with the jurors looking at you,” she said in The Mirror interview, adding that she was glad it was proven she had been “telling the truth the entire time.” “It’s not over for me. It’s never going to be over for me. Trump may be guilty, but I still have to live with the legacy.”
Daniels, 45, had been uncharacteristically quiet in the days following the Thursday conviction. Her husband, Barrett Blade, told CNN she was “still processing” the trial, suggesting she could be threatened by Trump’s supporters. “You know, all the MAGA idiots are going to be coming after her,” Blade said, referring to Trump’s Make America Great Again movement.
Daniels mentioned she would never escape death threats from Trump’s supporters, The Mirror reported. “It’s so vicious and threatening… from the standpoint of just the fear of what somebody might do,” Daniels’s lawyer Clark Brewster said about the trial’s atmosphere in an interview with a local ABC News channel.
Daniels is a self-made woman who rose from a difficult childhood through the challenging world of adult movies to become a successful businesswoman. However, a recent documentary revealed that behind her tough, humorous social media persona, she has been hurt by constant insults from Trump and his supporters. “Back in 2018, it was stuff like ‘liar,’ ‘slut,’ ‘gold digger,’” she said in the documentary “Stormy.” “This time around, it is very different. It is direct threats, it is, ‘I’m going to come to your house and slit your throat,’ ‘your daughter should be euthanized.’”
The trial and its revelations have heightened tensions in an already bitterly divided country. On Friday, Trump lashed out with a stream of insults and unfounded claims about the trial and the judge who presided over it.
His campaign announced on Friday that it had raised nearly $53 million in online donations following the conviction, boasting that the verdict had boosted his support “like never before.” Trump is due for sentencing on July 11 but is expected to appeal the verdict. While he potentially faces a prison sentence, he is much more likely to receive probation.
