Stormy Daniels says Trump told her she 'reminded him of his daughter'

Stormy Daniels has revealed that Donald Trump told her she 'reminded him of his daughter Ivanka' - as she opens up about her hush money trial in a documentary airing on Channel 5 tonight. In a candid interview which mirrors her testimony against the former US president, the adult film star recounts how she was initially at ease with Trump, before she alleges they had intercourse in a hotel room in 2006.

She says the pair discussed his daughter Ivanka, who had a prominent role on NBC's The Apprentice, and suggests she bonded with the real estate tycoon over the comparison. 'He told me I reminded him of his daughter. I feel like he was being sympathetic to me. Ivanka's beautiful and she's blonde and I'm sure she's had people assume she's an idiot.'

'But I felt like as this father figure who has watched his daughter be treated a certain way [he] could identify with me. I thought we had this mutual respect.' She went on to say that this 'mutual respect' was 'why it was so crazy when having no red flags whatsoever in a conversation I came out of the bathroom to find myself cornered. 'I don't remember how I got on the bed. It was awful. But I didn't say no.'

She later said she wishes she had said 'no'. 'I told very few people that we had actually had [intercourse],' she testified. 'I felt ashamed that I didn’t stop it, that I didn’t say no.' Daniels said again during the trial that Trump told her in his hotel suite: 'You remind me of my daughter, she is smart, people underestimate her as well.' During their meeting, Daniels said that Trump also dangled a potential cameo for the star in The Apprentice after she got introduced to him as a film 'director.' That was one reason she said she kept in touch with Trump even after the encounter she said rattled her, the court was told.

In the documentary, which is airing on Channel 5 tonight, Daniels tells the interviewer that their initial encounter had been pleasant. 'Did I get any bad vibes or sexual innuendos? Nothing. He said: "You're actually really smart". 'Somehow the conversation about Celebrity Apprentice came up, and his argument was "I will get a lot of attention for putting this blonde adult actress on TV". 'And I was like "NBC will never let me on television!" And he's like 'every season I get to pick one person that they can't overrule, it's my wild card. 'So he spun it to me as 'You want to be a mainstream director... well this is a chance for you to be on TV and show people that you're not just what you look like.'

The documentary - titled Stormy - is directed by Sarah Gibson, and poses the question: 'What happens when you take on the most powerful man in the world?' It is airing to UK audiences at the same time as closing arguments are taking place across the pond in Manhattan. Prosecutors and defense attorneys have one final opportunity to convince the jury of their respective cases before deliberations begin.

Jurors will undertake the unprecedented task of deciding whether to convict the former US president of felony criminal charges stemming from hush money payments tied to an alleged scheme to buy and bury stories that may have wrecked his 2016 presidential campaign. At the heart of the charges are reimbursements paid to Michael Cohen for a $130,000 hush money payment that was given to Daniels in exchange for not going public with her claim about a 2006 sexual encounter with Trump.

Prosecutors say the payments to Cohen, Trump's then-lawyer, were falsely logged as 'legal expenses' to hide the true nature of the transactions. Trump has denied all wrongdoing. He pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records, charges which are punishable by up to four years in prison. Closing arguments are expected to last all day Tuesday, with jury deliberations beginning as soon as Wednesday.

The case is the first of Trump's four indictments to go to trial as he seeks to reclaim the White House from Democrat Joe Biden. The other cases center on charges of illegally hoarding classified documents at his estate in Palm Beach, Florida, and conspiring to overturn the 2020 presidential election. It's unclear whether any of them will reach trial before the November election.

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