Stormy Daniels' Reason For Wearing A Bulletproof Vest To Trump Trial Is So Heartbreaking

It doesn't require a particularly observant onlooker to recognize that Donald Trump's hush money trial is having quite a negative impact on the former president. After all, his exhausted court appearance has been the talk of the town as of late. Yet, recent news proves that Trump isn't the only person involved in this trial who's facing difficulties as a result. Stormy Daniels, whose accusation that Trump paid her hush money ahead of the 2016 election to cover up their alleged affair prompted the trial, is suffering, too. In fact, she's so worried about the way the public will react to her that she even wore a bulletproof vest to the courthouse.

On Monday, May 13, Daniels' lawyer, Clark Brewster, appeared on CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360," and he opened up about how difficult this trial has really been for his client. On Tuesday, May 7, Daniels took the stand to testify against Trump regarding their alleged rendezvous in 2006. Brewster explained that the lead up to appearing in court was a trying time for Daniels. "I can tell you that before she came on Sunday, I mean, she cried herself to sleep," Brewster told Anderson Cooper. "She was concerned about the security coming into New York," he said, adding, "She wore a bulletproof vest every day until she got to the courthouse."

It's easy to imagine just how many things were running through Stormy Daniels' mind when it came time to enter the New York courthouse, but security threats may not be the first thing that most people think of. That doesn't, however, mean that it isn't an all too valid worry. Clark Brewster explained on "Anderson Cooper 360" that, before testifying, Daniels "was paralyzed with fear, not of taking the stand or telling her story, but what some nut might do to her." He noted, "I'm genuinely concerned about it as well."

Ironically, according to Daniels, her fears about the backlash and possible violence she could face from members of the public were precisely what prompted her to take the now-infamous hush money in the first place. In the 2024 Peacock documentary, "Stormy," Daniels explained why she allegedly took money from Donald Trump to keep quiet. According to her, she was "f***ing terrified," per Mediaite. She noted that "people have been suspiciously killed for political reasons." She also recalled a friend telling her, "You're the whole Republican Party's problem. And they like to make their problems go away."