Donald Trump Jr has described his father as “an artist with real estate” and a “genius” as he returned to the witness stand in the family's civil fraud trial in New York. The younger Trump, who is a co-defendant in the case along with his father and brother Eric, was the first defence witness in the proceedings.
His testimony on Monday largely steered away from the core allegations of the case, which centre on claims that the Trump Organization exaggerated property values by more than $2bn to secure favourable loans. Much of his appearance was instead characterised by jokes and a relaxed demeanour, drawing laughter from the courtroom when he quipped that New York Attorney General Letitia James might sue him for perjury if he said “it's good to be here”.
He also spoke fondly of his career, recalling how he went from bartending in Colorado to becoming a project manager at the Trump Organization, which he described as a “mom and pop” business operating as a “meritocracy”. He used his testimony to champion several Trump properties, including Trump Tower and the Mar-a-Lago resort, praising the latter as “one of the few sort of American castles”.
Addressing his father's role, he said the former president was on the leading edge of creating value in properties, able to turn “eyesores” into “jewels”. “He sees the things that other people don't see,” Mr Trump Jr said. “He sees the thing that other people would never envision. He plays the long game.”
The trial could result in Mr Trump and his fellow defendants being barred from doing business in New York and facing fines of at least $250m. Legal experts have suggested the case may be beyond salvaging after two damaging weeks of testimony, and Trump lawyers have already floated seeking a mistrial over alleged bias by the judge and his clerk. Judge Arthur Engoron, however, indicated he was willing to listen to the defence's case, remarking: “There's no jury - I don't see any prejudice to this.”
