EXCLUSIVE: How Donald Trump Faced Gag About Being Turned into Convict's 'Girlfriend' During Stormy Daniels Trial — And Saw Being Jailed As 'Ultimate Act of Defiance'
Donald Trump believed he could win the 2024 election from behind bars, a new book explains.
March 18 2025, Published 5:30 p.m. ET
Donald Trump attempted to swing his infamous "Hush Money" trial into the ultimate PR power play.
In early 2024, the president’s courtroom battle with Stormy Daniels led him to believe he could win the election from behind bars – and RadarOnline.com can reveal an exclusive look at his twisted reasoning throughout the ordeal.
Author Alex Isenstadt explains how Trump viewed the possibility of going to jail as 'ultimate act of defiance.'
The Daniels-Trump scandal case centered on allegations that Trump, 78, falsified business records to conceal a $130,000 payment to the adult film actress during his 2016 presidential campaign.
The payment was purportedly made to prevent Daniels from publicly discussing an alleged affair with Trump.
In May 2024, Trump was found guilty on all 34 felony counts related to falsifying business records in connection with these payments.
This conviction marked the first time a former U.S. president was found guilty of a felony.
The now-president was accused of falsifying business records to conceal a massive payment to Daniels.
Journalist Alex Isenstadt's new book, Revenge: The Inside Story of Trump's Return to Power, offers a startling look into the MAGA leader's thought process during the trial – starting with how he saw the court house as a "battlefield."
As the Daniels trial began, Trump urged his lawyer, Todd Blanche, to aggressively challenge the judge and attack Michael Cohen – despite a gag order issued by Judge Merchan.
While he appeared to have a strategy, the president highly doubted his chances of winning the case – especially in a "woke" place like New York City.
Isenstadt wrote: "The former president wasn’t confident about his prospects of winning the case.
"This, after all, was New York City, and Manhattanites were more likely to spend the weekend at a hipster coffee shop than going to a Trump rally."
Lieutenants joked to Trump he'd become a prisoner's 'girlfriend' if put behind bars.
He continued: "Jury selection wrapped up on April 18. There would be seven men and five women on the jury, most of them white-collar workers.
"Trump believed there was nothing to suggest they would give him a fair shake."
The author then explored the Republican's mindset shift on the possibility of going to jail, suggesting he would see it as a final act of rebellion.
He said: "Trump still didn’t like that he’d been indicted, but he was gradually coming to believe that going to jail wouldn’t actually be so bad.
"Trump saw himself as a martyr, and he believed going to jail would be seen as the ultimate act of defiance.
"His supporters would rally behind him. Trump believed he could win the presidency if he was behind bars or not."
Isenstadt said Trump would tell aides at the time: "I'm willing to do it. There’s nothing that they can do to me that isn’t worth it for the country."
He also noted how one of the lieutenants cracked a prison joke, telling Trump: "You wouldn’t want to become some prisoner’s girlfriend."
The president, however, was not amused.
In his bombshell book, Isenstadt says Trump saw the ordeal as a "PR battle" – and more specifically, "one that fit neatly into his argument that he and his supporters were being persecuted by a deep state justice system controlled by the Democratic Party."
It wasn't long before the "courtroom became the campaign trail," the author noted.
Trump's campaign team set up a makeshift operations center in a vacant courtroom next to the trial, equipped with two closed-circuit TVs showing a live feed of the proceedings.
The room was cluttered with copies of the New York Post, evidence and lunch leftovers, usually large orders of pizza for Trump, his Secret Service detail, and staff.
But the trial still largely disrupted Trump’s campaign, keeping him in New York instead of crucial swing states like Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
To keep him active, Trump's team arranged fundraising events, meetings with foreign dignitaries like former Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso and Polish President Andrzej Duda, and "street theater" – unscheduled stops designed to keep him in the spotlight.
Isenstadt noted: "Transporting a former and potentially future president around one of the busiest cities in the world wasn’t simple."
The president ultimately received an unconditional discharge and faced no jail time or fines.
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By mid-May, the trial was nearing its end, with the prosecution arguing Trump falsified business records to influence the election – presenting numerous documents and twenty witnesses.
The defense claimed Trump wasn't involved in the transactions and focused on discrediting witnesses.
The politician was hit with multiple gag order violations, and the judge threatened jail time if he continued posting online about the case.
As the trial ended, he expressed little hope for acquittal – fearing damaging cross-examinations.
The case went to the jury on May 29, and after some deliberation, the jury returned with a guilty verdict on all 34 counts.
Despite Trump's conviction, the president ultimately received an unconditional discharge, meaning he faced no jail time or fines.
The judge noted while the crimes were serious, Trump's status as president-elect at the time protected him from harsher penalties.
