Adult film star Stormy Daniels took the stand in Manhattan on Tuesday, providing testimony in Donald Trump's trial that sheds light on their alleged sexual encounter with the former president in 2006. The criminal trial in New York revolves around accusations that Trump falsified business records in an attempt to conceal hush money payments made to Daniels to silence her ahead of the 2016 general election.
In one moment that has raised eyebrows, Daniels claimed that during her meeting with Trump in his Lake Tahoe hotel room:
"He said I reminded him of his daughter because she's smart and blonde."
Although Trump denies they had sex, Daniels spoke under oath about the meeting, saying the two spent a "long time" together discussing various topics.
While Daniels did not specify which of Trump's daughters he was referring to, the comment is widely understood to refer to Ivanka Trump, who served as a senior adviser to her father and shares those characteristics.
It's well known that Trump has a long record of making odd comments about Ivanka. He has referred to her as "hot," and a "piece of ass," and once rather infamously remarked that if she wasn't his daughter, "perhaps [he'd] be dating her."
People were grossed out—though not really surprised—by Daniels' admission.
Trump's fascination with Ivanka has periodically made headlines.
Trump advisor Jason Miller once recalled that Trump called former football quarterback Tom Brady—a longtime friend—on his birthday in 2016 and left a voicemail saying that the "only one thing you weren't able to do" was "win" Ivanka.
Miles Taylor, who was Chief of Staff at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) during the Trump administration, also confirmed Trump used to fantasize about Ivanka in front of staff. Taylor claimed that Trump's remarks about Ivanka were part of a broader pattern of sexism and inappropriate behavior toward women within his administration.
According to Taylor's book, Blowback: A Warning to Save Democracy from the Next Trump, aides noted that Trump talked about Ivanka Trump’s breasts, her backside, and what it might be like to have sex with her, remarks that once led [White House Chief of Staff] John Kelly to remind the president that Ivanka was his daughter."
