Is this why Donald Trump closed his eyes during Hope Hicks’ testimony? Former Apprentice contestant Stacy Schneider shares intriguing theory

A former Apprentice contestant has shared an intriguing theory about why Donald Trump turned a blind eye during Hope Hicks’ testimony at his hush money trial in New York.

The former president has already hit back at claims that he was sleeping in the courtroom, stating that he closed his eyes to “take it all in.”

Former student candidate Stacy Schneider appears to support his position, but offered an alternative explanation for the gesture.

“I don’t think he’s taking it all in, I think he can handle it,” Schneider said CNN. “I think he’s calming himself down. When he closes his eyes, it has nothing to do with sleep.

“I think the moment Hope Hicks took that stand, he knew it would be heartbreak, and it would be an embarrassment.”

Schneider, who appeared on The Apprentice in 2006, added that Trump’s genuine affection for Hicks, his former White House communications director, made her testimony all the more painful.

“I don’t think he cared much about the other witnesses, even though he said David Pecker had been his friend for 20 years. He doesn’t care about Michael Cohen, he cared about Hope Hicks,” Schneider said.

“It would bring together the three parts of his life that are the focus of this trial: his business activities, his White House activities and finally his personal interactions.”

Schneider explained that her experience on the former president’s TV show gives her unique insight into his behavior.

“I know how he works when people talk out of line,” she explained.

Hicks took the stand in Manhattan Criminal Court, where Trump is on trial over a $130,000 payment to adult actress Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election, the nature of which prosecutors say he tried to obscure in internal documents. his company.

Trump has denied having a sexual encounter with Daniels, and his lawyers argue the payments were legitimate legal fees.

Hicks broke down in tears during her testimony on Friday, describing the “crisis” sparked by the infamous Access Hollywood tape and her own “stunned” reaction during the hush money trial.

The 35-year-old served as one of Trump’s top aides and became involved in his campaign for office in 2015.

The two became very close and she helped guide him through the scandal when he was caught on tape bragging about groping women, which threatened to derail his 2016 presidential bid.

Hicks told the court that Trump’s 2016 campaign was preoccupied with concerns about the potential political damage of the Access Hollywood tape.

She recalled in vivid detail how, as campaign press secretary, she walked to the 25th floor of Trump Tower to interrupt debate preparations and hand Trump the transcript of the clip in which he delivered the “grab them by the p** **’ comments. .

An upset Trump insisted he “didn’t want to offend anyone” and felt his rude comments were “pretty standard stuff for two guys chatting,” she told the jury.

The prosecutor led her through detailed descriptions of her interactions with Trump as he came forward with lurid allegations.

She also revealed that she has not spoken to the former president since the fall of 2022 and is paying for her own lawyer, despite her unwavering loyalty while working at his side.

Prosecutors hope her testimony will strengthen their argument. The furore over the tape rushed Trump’s then-lawyer to pay porn actor Stormy Daniels to bury a negative story that could jeopardize his 2016 presidential bid.

Hicks told jurors that Trump claimed he knew nothing about Daniels’ payment from his then-attorney Michael Cohen.

But she said he eventually came to believe it was wise to bury Daniels’ story, saying he thought “it would have been bad if that story had come out before the election.”

She also described how Trump instructed her to ensure that no newspapers were delivered to Trump Tower when a tell-all story about an alleged affair with ex-Playboy model Karen McDougal was to be released.

“I don’t think he wanted anyone in his family to be hurt or embarrassed by what happened during the campaign. He wanted them to be proud of him,” Hicks responded when asked about Trump’s position on the issue.

Hicks was once one of Trump’s most trusted advisers and was close to Ivanka Trump and husband Jared Kushner.

However, she and Trump have not spoken much since her departure from his team in 2021.

Hicks left her role after the Jan. 6 riots in a long-planned move, but her testimony before Congress about the Capitol suggested she was angry with her former boss and had pushed back against his baseless claims of voter fraud.