Dismissed juror says Trump ‘looked less orange’ in person
One of the potential jurors who was dismissed from former President Trump’s hush money trial in New York said he “looked less orange” in person.
The woman, who was interviewed by MSNBC’s Yasmin Vossoughian, said she was dismissed on Thursday because she couldn’t be impartial. She shared with the outlet what it was like to see the former president in court.
“You know, he looked less orange. Definitely. Like, more yellowish,” she said, in a clip highlighted by Mediaite.
“He doesn’t look angry … I think he looks bored. Like he wants to finish and go do his stuff,” she continued.
Nearly 100 potential jurors arrived in Manhattan court Monday for Trump’s trial. More than half of them were immediately dismissed after raising their hands to indicate they could not be fair or impartial, in an illustration of the case’s political divisiveness.
After three days in court, seven New Yorkers have been chosen to be jurors in the historic case, the first criminal trial of any U.S. president — though that list was down to five as of 3 p.m. Thursday after two selected jurors were excused.
The first juror was removed after expressing concern that family members and friends questioned her about being a juror, even though their names are being kept secret. A second juror was excused after prosecutors found evidence he may have lied in response to the questionnaire.
There will be 12 jurors chosen, with at least six alternates.
Another juror, who was dismissed from the larger pool due to work conflicts, said it was "jarring" to see someone in person who has been “blown up so larger than life on the media for so many years.”
“And you get the sense that it’s like, ‘Oh, this is just another guy.’ And also he sees me talking about him, which is bizarre,” she added.
The dismissed juror who spoke with Vossoughian said it was a weird atmosphere because it is “such an important” and “historical case.”
She said she, along with the other potential jurors, were shocked when they found out the case they’d been chosen for was the former president’s trial.
“Everybody was shocked. Everybody was frozen,” she said.