Alina Habba, Donald Trump Court Sketches Spark Avalanche of Jokes

🎙️ Voice is AI-generated. Inconsistencies may occur.

Court sketches from Donald Trump's civil fraud trial have sparked ridicule and mockery online at the way he and his attorney, Alina Habba, were depicted.

Habba was shown with puffed up features showing overgrown lips, a bulging chin and with a sinking indent in her cheek. The drawings appeared to amuse a number of anti-Trump social media users.

"Somebody better buy the court sketch artist a drink for this Habba drawing," one person wrote.

Another added: "This artist really picked up the evil."

Alina Habba
Alina Habba leaves the New York State Supreme Court in New York City on December 07, 2023. Court sketches from Donald Trump's civil fraud trial have sparked ridicule over the way he and his attorney,... James Devaney/GC Images

The somewhat at-odds version of Habba also appeared to feature what one user compared to eagle-like talons, the result of a black mark trailing off the edge of her fingers.

Trump was pictured with exaggerated features including hawkish eyes and looking ahead with a toothless gape.

"Now those are some NFTs I'd be willing to blow my hard earned money on," one person joked, referencing the collectible digital images of himself sold by Trump. Images have shown Trump as different characters and in various poses including as a cowboy, astronaut and with laser eyes.

Established courtroom artist Christine Cornell drew the sketches that were redistributed on a number of major news networks and seen on social media.

She has drawn a number of famous people and court defendants including Boston bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, crime boss Whitey Bulger and NFL quarterback Tom Brady.

The style she deployed to show Habba and Trump is similar to that used in her other sketches. On her website, she calls courtrooms "fascinating places" where the "best and the worst of humanity are frequently on display."

She wrote: "The stakes are high, and the stories unfold in pieces, through a peculiar and purposely dispassionate process. I know of no better place to draw, where you can so closely observe and absorb such unusual and compelling characters."

Trump and Habba were in the Manhattan Supreme Court on January 11 for the culmination of the civil fraud case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James.

James is asking Judge Arthur Engoron, who has already ruled Trump and the Trump Organization liable for fraud, for a $370 million sanction.

Alina Habba
Donald Trump stands with his lawyer Alina Habba following closing arguments in his civil fraud trial in New York City on January 11, 2024. Unflattering court sketches of the pair have amused anti-Trump social media... Spencer Platt/Getty Images

She is also hoping to ban the former president from doing business in New York ever again after Engoron said in September he was convinced Trump and his business had deceived lenders by exaggerating the value of a number of his assets.

Trump has repeatedly called the trial a political witch hunt.

About the writer

Benjamin Lynch is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is U.S. politics and national affairs and he reports on issues including death penalty executions, U.S. foreign policy, the latest developments in Congress among others. Prior to joining Newsweek in 2023, Benjamin worked as a U.S., world and U.K. reporter for the Daily Mirror and reported extensively on stories including the plight of Afghan refugees and the cases of death row prisoners.

Benjamin had previously worked at the Daily Star and renowned free speech magazine Index on Censorship after graduating from Liverpool John Moores University. You can get in touch with Benjamin by emailing b.lynch@newsweek.com and follow him on X @ben_lynch99.

Languages: English


Benjamin Lynch is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is U.S. politics and national affairs and he ... Read more