Judge Stormy Daniels if you want but her testimony in Trump's trial is important

Stormy Daniels may be the only person who can humiliate Donald Trump. We saw some of that last week after she testified against him.

But we also saw her being treated differently because of her profession. What people seemed to have missed is that Daniels is more than a portion of her life and that her testimony was a culturally important moment.

The New York criminal trial over Trump’s alleged falsification of business records is going into its fourth week. It’s a culmination of the last eight years that feels close to parody, from Trump’s repeated violation of the gag order to the lack of supporters outside the courtroom.

Daniels took the stand on May 7, giving testimony about the night in 2006 when she and Trump allegedly had sex.

Daniels faces backlash for her testimony at the Trump trial

Countless articles from countless outlets refer to Daniels as a “porn star” in headlines, even though she has also directed and produced adult films. Bill Maher called her a “bad witness.” Fox News journalist Howard Kurtz asked his audience, “A woman who’s paid to have sex with hundreds of men had no idea what he might have wanted?”

Trump the coward: We'll see if Donald Trump has the guts to testify under oath. Stormy Daniels did.

Let’s be clear: being a sex worker does not waive Daniels’ right to choose who she has sex with. It does not change the fact that had this story come out around the 2016 election, it may have changed the trajectory of the country, and it does not change the fact that her testimony finally paints Trump in a different light that could impact this election.

Even with the described power imbalance, Daniels’ testimony doesn’t fit the larger-than-life personality we’re used to ascribing to Trump, which was curated for decades in the spotlight.

Daniels said he was in silk pajamas when she came to his hotel room anticipating dinner. He told her his wife  Melania slept in a separate bedroom. She said the sex was “brief" and she regretted it. He would sound pitiful if any other man were described this way under oath. Much less a former president.

That’s what makes Daniels' testimony so important. It reminds us that Trump is neither the country’s savior MAGA wants him to be nor the cartoon supervillain everybody else is invested in. He is a human being with a ton of power who is seeking to have more. But that power should not put him above the law and isn't immune to the testimony Daniels gave.

Trump thought Daniels would be discredited. She was not.

The Trump legal team could have avoided this dazzling humiliation of testimony had they not declared her story false at the beginning of the trial. It’s possible that his team assumed it was still the 1990s when Bill Clinton’s actions resulted in Monica Lewinsky being ruthlessly mocked by late-night hosts and editorial boards.

Daniels is not a perfect witness; she is allowed to be human, just like Trump is. She is allowed to have a complicated story, and it doesn’t change the case or the allegations. And it doesn't change her testimony about a former American president looking to have that job again.

The trial will continue for several days still, and more people will testify. But none are likely to be as shamed as Daniels has been or have the humiliating impact she has had on Trump. Time will tell if any of it will matter.

Follow USA TODAY elections columnist Sara Pequeño on X, formerly Twitter, @sara__pequeno and Facebook facebook.com/PequenoWrites

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: The Stormy Daniels testimony shows Trump as he really is: Weak.