In a recent court case, Stormy Daniels testified about her interaction with Donald Trump, providing details that left many shocked. Daniels revealed that during a meeting with Trump, he mentioned his daughter Ivanka shortly after Daniels playfully spanked him with a magazine.
During her testimony, Daniels recounted the events leading to this peculiar moment. According to a court transcript, Trump, a then-businessman, pulled out a Forbes magazine with his face on the cover during their conversation. This was after Trump had exhibited arrogance, cutting Daniels off, and failing to engage meaningfully. Daniels, tired of his attitude, jokingly suggested that someone should spank him with the magazine. Trump, seemingly daring her, rolled it up and handed it to her. Daniels proceeded to swat him on the butt, which, according to her, resulted in Trump becoming much more polite.
During their continued discussion, Trump mentioned his television show, “The Apprentice,” and suggested that Daniels should appear on it. He compared Daniels to his daughter Ivanka, stating that she reminded him of her because she was “smart and blond and beautiful,” emphasizing how people often underestimated her.
Q Did there come a time during the discussion with him that he discussed being on the cover of some of his magazines?
A Of course.
Q Tell us about that.
A He would ask me questions and then not let me finish the answer. He kept cutting me off, and it was almost like he wanted to one-up me, which was just really hilarious when you think about it. He just wanted to talk about himself. And he said, have you seen my new magazines? Well, of course you couldn’t have seen it. I have a copy. So he pulled out a magazine, I don’t know if it was not released yet or just released, that he was on the cover of. It was not like I made a habit of reading financial magazines. I was just a 27-year-old stripper, but, yeah.
Q And what happened with respect to that discussion about magazines?
A At this point, I pretty much had enough of his arrogance and cutting me off and still not getting my dinner. So, I decided someone should take him on. So I said, are you always this rude, arrogant and
pompous? You don’t even know how to have a conversion, and I was pretty nasty. I snapped. And he seemed to be taken aback. And I said, someone should spank you with that. That’s the only interest I have in that magazine. Otherwise, I am leaving.
Q What happened?
A I don’t think he thought I would do it. So, he rolled it up and gave me the look that he dared me to do it. So, now I kind of had to.
Q So, what did you do?
A So, I took it from him and said, turn around. And I swatted him.
Q Where do you swat him?
A Right on the butt.
Q Right after that, did you continue to sit down and talk?
A Yes. And he was much more polite.
Q Did you have a discussion with him about The Apprentice?
A Yes. I think, like I said, we talked about numerous things. We talked about the golf course in Scotland, which to me was very interesting about the environment that was there. We talked about travel. Like I said, there was nothing weird about the conversations except that it wasn’t weird, it was like business questions and thought-out questions and thought-out answers, and how did you come up with ideas for my scripts and things like that.
And it was at that point he got really quiet, and he was thinking, and he told me he had an idea, that I should go on his television show.
Q Which show?
A The Apprentice.
Q Was it The Apprentice?
A I don’t remember the TV show. The Apprentice, I assume it’s Celebrity Apprentice. I don’t know, The Apprentice. And I said there is no way that they would ever let — there is no way NBC would ever let an adult actress on television. And I said, even you don’t have that much power. And he said that he did.
He said, you remind me of my daughter because she is smart and blond and beautiful and people under estimate her as well.
And the way he framed it did actually make perfect sense, because he is all about like PR things, the spin. And he was like, that will really shake things up, and you can go on the show and prove that you are not just a dumb bimbo, you are more than people think and he would get a lot of attention for having this crazy idea.
Daniels’s account of this encounter was also discussed in a 60 Minutes interview with Anderson Cooper and in her Peacock documentary, “Stormy.” In these, Daniels reiterated that Trump acted like a “father figure” and became more polite after the playful spanking. During her interview with Anderson Cooper, she described how the dynamic changed after the spanking, with Trump becoming more interested in engaging in a proper conversation, asking her questions, and treating her with more respect. Despite the humor of the spanking incident, Trump’s comments about his daughter during a sexual encounter raised eyebrows, adding to the overall shock of Daniels’s testimony.
