Donald Trump Looks 'Less Orange' in Person, Dismissed Juror Says

Donald Trump isn't as "orange" in person, according to a juror who was dismissed from the former president's Manhattan hush money trial.

"He looked less orange. Definitely, like more yellow-ish...he doesn't look angry; I think he looks bored like he wants this to finish and go do his stuff," the dismissed juror said on Thursday when asked by MSNBC how the former president looked in the courtroom during his criminal trial.

She said that she was dismissed from the case because she "couldn't be impartial."

Newsweek reached out to a spokesperson for Trump via email for comment.

The Context

On Thursday, Trump's criminal trial in Manhattan continued on its third day with a focus on the jury selection process. Trump was indicted by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg last April in a case involving alleged hush money payments made to former adult film star Stormy Daniels.

Bragg's indictment accused the former president of "fraudulently falsified New York business records to conceal crimes that hid damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election."

Trump has continued to deny any wrongdoing in the case. He was also previously placed under a gag order by New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan after criticizing the judge's daughter.

What We Know

Earlier on Thursday, Newsweek reported that a juror was dismissed from the trial after raising "concerns" about her ability to be fair and impartial.

"Yesterday alone, I had friends, colleagues and family push things to my phone, questioning my identity as a juror," the juror reportedly said.

The juror was later excused from the case. Newsweek's Katherine Fung reported on X, formerly Twitter, that Merchan said, "We just lost what would have been a very good juror for this case."

Another juror was also dismissed later on Thursday.

Jurors were previously asked to complete a questionnaire regarding different aspects of their lives and any possible political biases. Before being seated, the jurors faced scrutiny from both sides of the case.

Twelve jurors and six alternative jurors are expected to be picked for the trial.

Views

The dismissed juror who commented on the former president's appearance also spoke to about others in the possible jury pool and said that they were aware that this is "a historical case."

"This is going to define so many things," she said. "But at the same time, our job as a juror is to be impartial, to be unbiased...it was weird, the whole atmosphere, such an important case at the same time."

What's Next

The jury selection process in Trump's criminal trial is expected to continue over the next few weeks.

Prosecutors also argued on Thursday that Trump violated the gag order against him several times. His defense, however, said there are no "willful violations," of the order.

Update 4/18/24, 12:43 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.