(Bloomberg) -- Stormy Daniels will return to the witness stand in Donald Trump’s hush money criminal trial Thursday morning, testing the ability of both the adult film star and the former president to keep their cool.

Daniels on Tuesday ended her testimony in the midst of a harsh cross examination in which Trump’s lawyer repeatedly accused her of lying about an affair with the former president. Trump drew the judge’s ire by swearing while Daniels testified, coming close to violating a gag order in the case.

Trump vented his anger on social media Wednesday, accusing New York State Justice Juan Merchan of violating his free-speech rights by barring him from responding to “sleazebags, lowlifes, and grifters” who get to say “absolutely anything that they want.” Trump didn’t reference Daniels specifically.

“It is hard to sit back and listen to lies and false statements be made against you knowing that if you respond, even in the most modest fashion, you are told by a Corrupt and Highly Conflicted Judge that you will be PUT IN PRISON, maybe for a long period of time,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.

Trump had fumed on Tuesday as Daniels described in vivid and tawdry detail her alleged 2006 sexual encounter with Trump in a Lake Tahoe hotel suite, after they met at a celebrity golf tournament. The highly anticipated testimony prompted swearing by Trump that could be heard by the judge.

“I understand that your client is upset at this point, but he is cursing audibly, and he is shaking his head visually and that’s contemptuous,” Merchan told Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche in a sidebar conversation that was made public when the daily transcript of the trial was released Tuesday night. “It has the potential to intimidate the witness and the jury can see that.”

A photograph of Daniels and Trump smiling side by side at the event was shown to the jury on Tuesday. Daniels described in detail the alleged sexual encounter that she said took place after Trump’s bodyguard invited her to Trump’s hotel that night for dinner. 

“He was wearing silk or satin pajamas, like two-piece pajamas, that I immediately made fun of,” Daniels said as a prosecutor questioned her about the encounter. “‘Does Mr. Hefner know you stole his pajamas?’” 

The scene injected a tabloid-ready moment into the trial, as the adult-film actress squared off against the former president before a jury of New Yorkers who will determine his fate. 

Campaign Damage

The private and potentially embarrassing details appeared to infuriate the former president, who has denied the affair and is deeply protective of his image. What’s less clear is how damaging the revelations will be to his case or his campaign. 

The testimony is the latest example of how Trump’s dealings with women are still coming back to haunt him in court. Last year, a federal jury in Manhattan found Trump liable for sexually assaulting New York writer E. Jean Carroll in the 1990s. Another jury awarded Carroll $83.3 million in damages to punish Trump for defaming her by denying her allegation of rape.

Star Witness

Daniels is at the center of a case in which Trump is accused of falsifying business records to conceal the nature of a $130,000 payment to her to keep her quiet before the 2016 election. 

If Daniels can convince jurors that a sexual encounter took place, it can bolster the Manhattan District Attorney’s argument about Trump’s motivations. Still, her detailed descriptions drew admonitions from the judge and complaints from Trump’s lawyers.

Mistrial Request

Daniels delivered much of her testimony in a colorful manner that sometimes bordered on humorous, eliciting laughs from spectators. Daniels avoided looking at Trump, even when she walked right by him. For his part, Trump appeared to keep his eyes closed for much of her testimony.

Trump’s lawyers mostly let Daniels testify uninterrupted. It wasn’t until after the lunch break, when Trump’s lawyer Blanche seized the opportunity to ask for a mistrial, arguing that Daniels had gone too far. 

Merchan denied the request, but asked Daniels to avoid providing “unnecessary details.” He also chided Trump’s lawyers for not objecting to it earlier.

Salacious Details

Daniels described how she met Trump in a Lake Tahoe hotel suite, after Trump’s bodyguard invited her to Trump’s hotel for dinner. When she arrived at the room, she found Trump in his silk pajamas.

Speaking rapidly, Daniels was frequently asked to slow down by the judge. She detailed her banter with Trump, describing him as “arrogant.”

Daniels said she asked Trump about his wife, Melania. He told her not to worry about that and that they “don’t even sleep in the same room.” She said she excused herself to go to the bathroom, and found Trump waiting for her on the bed when she returned.

“There was an imbalance of power for sure,” Daniels said. “He was bigger and blocking the way. But, I mean, I was not threatened verbally or physically.”

The consensual tryst left her shaken, Daniels said, but she stayed in touch with Trump because he promised he’d help her get on his reality TV show, The Apprentice.

Daniels said hundreds of people knew of her relationship with Trump, but few knew they had sex. Her story briefly became public on a 2011 gossip blog. But by 2016, she decided to accept a $130,000 payment from Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen to keep quiet.

“My motivation wasn’t money,” Daniels said. “It was to get the story out.”

Cross-Examination 

Trump’s team used cross examination to portray Daniels as a liar who wanted to make money off a fake story.

Trump lawyer Susan Necheles accused Daniels of making up her testimony, pointing to had told a Los Angeles lawyer and some entertainment news outlets that she didn’t have sex with Trump.

“You’re making this up as you sit there, right?” Necheles said.

Necheles suggested that Daniels was determined to avoid paying Trump more than $500,000 in legal fees she owed him.

“You’re looking to extort money from President Trump, right?” Necheles asked.

“False,” said Daniels.

The lawyer at one point got Daniels to say she hates Trump and that she hopes he’ll go to jail, seeking to convey that Daniels was biased.

“Am I correct that you hate President Trump?” Necheles asked.

“Yes,” Daniels said.

“And you want him to go to jail?” Necheles asked.

“I want him to be held accountable,” Daniels said.

--With assistance from Jordan Fabian.

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