Donald Trump's Sign He Knows He Lost the Trial Already

Donald Trump took the stand in his civil fraud trial on Monday, kicking things off to a fiery start with Judge Arthur Engoron, who repeatedly cut off the former president's testimony to admonish him for evading questions and going on political rants.

Over the first hour of testimony, Engoron stressed that he wanted to move the case along, insisting that Trump "just answer the questions, no speeches," and even telling him at one point, "You can attack me, you can do whatever you want, but answer the question."

Engoron had already ruled before the trial began that Trump and his co-defendants, which include his two eldest sons and The Trump Organization, were liable for "persistent and repeated" financial fraud.

The trial that is currently ongoing seeks to determine how much the Trumps will have to pay in damages and to resolve the other six claims alleged by New York Attorney General Letitia James.

As Trump's time on the witness stand continued, the judge grew increasingly infuriated with the witness' responses, beseeching his lawyers to "control him if you can."

But Trump's combative behavior may be part of his larger legal strategy, experts say.

Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told Newsweek that while he's not surprised Trump has been defiant on the witness stand, the former president's choice to take that position on his sole day of testimony in the trial suggests that he's trying to make the most of a case he already knows he has lost.

"Trump knows that he's lost this case, and it's just a matter of how badly. He's trying to get under the judge's skin and create a record on appeal," Rahmani said.

"Judge Engoron asked Trump's lawyers to control him, but that is a fruitless exercise, because Trump can't be controlled by anyone," he added. "The only way to do so is to hold him in contempt, and I don't think Engoron has the courage to do so."

Former federal prosecutor and elected State Attorney Michael McAuliffe also told Newsweek that Trump likely knows he and the other defendants in the case won't be able to improve their circumstances during their time on the stand.

Instead, both Rahmani and McAuliffe said Trump is using his testimony to play to an audience that is well outside the courtroom. They said the former president is using the courtroom for his own "political theater" to speak not to the legal players in the courtroom, but to his base and other voters outside of it.

Asked about the Mar-a-Lago property evaluation, Trump turned his anger to James, calling the trial "disgraceful" and "a political witch hunt."

"I think she should be ashamed of herself," Trump said before turning to Engoron to criticize him for the ruling issued before the trial.

"He called me a fraud and he didn't know anything about me," Trump said, adding that he thought Engoron's opinion was "fraudulent."

"The fraud is on the court, not on me," Trump said.

James' office referred Newsweek to the attorney general's remarks from earlier in the day, which stated, "This morning, Donald Trump resorted to bullying and name calling, he gave rambling answers and hurled insults from the witness stand to distract from the truth. But make no mistake, he committed fraud. Numbers and facts don't lie."

McAuliffe said while it's "effective in the moment" since Trump can control the courtroom as a witness who isn't constrained by the rules that the other involved parties face, the former president is "helping the attorney general's legal case in the long term" because the judge still has yet to determine the penalties the Trumps will face in this case.

Newsweek reached out to Trump attorney Chris Kise via email for comment.

Update 11/6/23 2:24 p.m. ET This story was updated with comments from James' office.