Trump Battles Judge In Testy NYC Civil Trial Testimony

NEW YORK CITY — A testy Donald Trump squared off with the equally peeved judge overseeing his New York City civil fraud trial in a surreal — and historic — courtroom spectacle.

Trump's witness stand testimony Monday saw the former president lash out at New York Attorney General Letitia James and get admonished by a clearly annoyed Judge Arthur Engoron.

Engoron, after hearing meandering answers from the stand, reminded Trump that "this is not a political rally."

"We don't have time to waste," the judge said

He later said to Trump's attorney, "I beseech you to control him if you can. If you can't, I will."

Trump, for his part, lashed out at the judge, James, the case itself and any suggestion that he inflated his net worth.

"He ruled against me and he said I was a fraud before he knew anything about me," Trump said of Engoron.

Of James, Trump said, "I think that she's a political hack, and I think she used this case to try and become governor and she used it successfully to become attorney general. I think it’s a disgrace that this case is going on."

James, in a statement, said Trump's bluster won't distract from the truth that he committed fraud.

"This morning, Donald Trump resorted to bullying and name calling, he gave rambling answers and hurled insults from the witness stand to distract from the truth," James tweeted.

The volatile testimony unfolded inside a courtroom in 60 Centre St. in Lower Manhattan, where Trump's adult children Donald Jr. and Eric had already taken the stand, and Trump had been questioned once before by the judge.

While his children testified about their role in the family business, Trump's own witness stand appearance related to a gag order that Judge Arthur Engoron imposed on him to not speak ill of court staff in the case.

Engoron found Trump had violated the order and fined him $10,000.

Trump, before his testimony, labeled Engoron as a "wacko” and "RADICAL LEFT, DEMOCRAT OPERATIVE JUDGE" who has already "ruled viciously" against him.

Trump's combative testimony drew condemnation from Gov. Kathy Hochul, who called his conduct a "disgrace."

"Today, in a Manhattan courtroom, Donald Trump is throwing temper tantrums from the witness stand and verbally attacking judges," she tweeted.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.