Outside court, Trump tries to command the narrative. Inside, he can only sit in silence

The city of New York is “crime-ridden and dying,” according to Donald Trump. He has called a criminal case against him a “mess,” the judge hopelessly “conflicted,” and the prosecutor a “thug.” The former president’s attorneys claim that the entire borough of Manhattan is “overwhelmingly biased” against him.

But for four days, a few dozen of his fellow New Yorkers told him how they felt, to his face, and there was nothing he could do about it.

A jury of Mr Trump’s peers has been assembled to hear the first criminal trial of a current or former president, who is charged with falsifying business records to conceal payments to an adult film star with whom he allegedly had an affair.

Hiding those payments tried to protect his election prospects in 2016, the beginning