TIME MACHINE — An ever-growing collection of books, memoirs and depositions offers a comprehensive accounting of Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and the early years of his first term. And yet even with so much insight into the dawn of the Trump era, it’s still possible to be shocked by the campaign’s operation and the former president’s transactional approach to every aspect of life.

This was Michael Cohen’s gift to posterity this week when he took the stand and explained what it was like working for Trump. He proceeded to recount multiple details that shed light on Trump’s historic presidential victory and his state of mind during that campaign. It was his wife Melania, we learned, who came up with the now famous phrase “locker room talk” to describe the contents of the Access Hollywood tape. And according to Cohen, Trump told him that he shouldn’t worry about how Stormy Daniels’ claims would affect Trump’s relationship with his spouse.

“How long do you think I’ll be on the market for? Not long,” Cohen remembered Trump telling him.

For weeks, we’ve learned not only about Trump’s alleged malfeasance, but also about his unorthodox 2016 campaign and his early time in the White House. The trial has provided a veritable oral history of that period, illuminating the amateur nature of his operation, his worldview and perhaps more importantly, how he perceived the broad powers of the Oval Office — and used them for his own purposes.

Almost immediately after the prosecution began to call witnesses, National Enquirer publisher David Pecker testified that, when Trump won White House, he wanted to thank Pecker for his help keeping negative stories out of the press. According to Pecker, a grateful Trump invited him to dinner at the White House in July of 2017. “It’s your dinner,” he told Pecker.

At the dinner, Trump inquired about another potentially thorny political problem: Karen McDougal, whom Pecker had paid for the rights to her story about her affair with Trump.

Pecker also testified as to Trump’s view of the man he appointed to the position of the nation’s chief law enforcement office. When Pecker expressed concerns about a Federal Election Commission inquiry involving the payments to McDougal, Cohen told him Trump had then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions “in his pocket.” That story was confirmed by Cohen during his testimony — he was confident Trump would take care of the FEC inquiry.

In addition, before Trump made his way to the White House, Pecker testified that he strategized with Hope Hicks and Sarah Huckabee Sanders about how to approach the McDougal story. All three agreed that it made sense for Pecker to continue paying her in order to stop her story from spreading.

Hicks, who was familiar with almost every scandal during Trump’s early years on the political scene, revealed a great deal about the inner workings of the Trump campaign. She described her reaction to the Access Hollywood tape — in an email to Kellyanne Conway, Steve Bannon and Jason Miller, among others, she wrote, “Need to hear the tape to be sure. Deny, deny, deny.” She then detailed a strategy meeting on the tape that included Conway, Bannon and Jason Miller, as well as Jared Kushner and Stephen Miller.

After the Access Hollywood tape dropped, the Trump campaign embarked on a strategy to seek out and quash any more potential negative stories about Trump, according to Hicks’ testimony. Some of those stories were the accounts of affairs from McDougal and Daniels.

Much of this has already been aired to varying degree — the campaign, and later the White House leaked, like a sieve. There are plenty of books that paint a picture of disorganization and or chronicle the grifters hanging on to Trump to advance their own interests. But hearing about many of these stories straight from people who were there to experience them, while under oath, provides a patina of credibility that anonymous sources can’t provide.

With the blockbuster cross-examination of Michael Cohen set to conclude early next week, we’re likely left only with closing statements and jury deliberation. But what’s been recounted by Cohen and other witnesses is instructive.

It’s impossible to know exactly how Trump will behave if he returns to office. By all accounts, Trump has professionalized his 2024 campaign, suggesting he learned something from his slapdash first campaign and his 2020 reelection loss. The question is whether his views on presidential prerogatives have changed, or whether he intends to be guided by loftier principles.

His consistent violations of Justice Juan Merchan’s gag order, the constant complaints to the press about his unfair treatment and his audible harrumphing in the courtroom indicate otherwise.

Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at [email protected]. Or contact tonight’s author at [email protected] or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @calder_mchugh.

TRUMP ON TRIAL

ON A BREAK — The Trump trial was paused today for former President Donald Trump to attend his son Barron’s high school graduation.

What'd I Miss?

— Man convicted of attacking Nancy Pelosi’s husband with a hammer sentenced to 30 years: The man convicted of attempting to kidnap then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and attacking her husband with a hammer was sentenced today to 30 years in prison. Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley handed down the sentence for David DePape, 44, whom jurors found guilty last November of attempted kidnapping of a federal official and assault on the immediate family member of a federal official. Prosecutors had asked for a 40-year prison term.

— House GOP plots next steps against Garland: House Republicans are eyeing a court fight as their next step in their ongoing standoff with the Justice Department. Republicans on the Judiciary and Oversight committees voted on Thursday to advance resolutions holding Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt for refusing to hand over the audio of President Joe Biden’s interview with former special counsel Robert Hur. Hours earlier, Biden effectively headed them off by asserting executive privilege over that audio — bringing the chances that Garland would face criminal charges for defying subpoenas to near zero. But they are hinting they already have a back up plan: Duking it out in the courts. “I think that’s very likely,” Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said today in a brief interview about filing a lawsuit.

— California university president retires amid protest backlash: The president of Sonoma State University is abruptly retiring after being placed on administrative leave this week for “insubordination” related to an agreement he had announced with pro-Palestinian student protesters. President Mike Lee’s retirement announcement came two days after his public reprimand. Lee sent a campus-wide memo Tuesday noting that he had made several concessions to occupants of a pro-Palestinian encampment on campus. Among other promises, Lee told students he would initiate an academic boycott of Israel and work with a local chapter of the activist group Students for Justice in Palestine to form an advisory council on some decisions.

Nightly Road to 2024

CPD FIGHTS BACK — Frank J. Fahrenkopf Jr., co-founder and co-chair of the Commission on Presidential Debates, had harsh words for senior members of the Biden campaign, which stunned the commission on Wednesday morning with a letter declaring the president would not participate in the commission’s fall debates. The Biden team described the commission’s debates as “noisy spectacles” that occur too late in the process to accommodate early voting, and which were too easy for Donald Trump to hijack in 2020 by breaking rules that went unenforced.

Fahrenkopf called the Biden campaign’s allegations “false” and said the campaign “didn’t do their homework” on early voting, writes POLITICO. He blamed the blowup on Biden advisers Anita Dunn and Ron Klain’s hostility to the commission.

AWAY GAMES — Donald Trump has fixated on the idea he can expand the map in a general election that’s likely to be decided in six swing states, writes POLITICO. He has touted his rally attendance in New Jersey as evidence that he could flip the deep-blue stronghold. And he has mused about winning Virginia.

But it’s Minnesota, of all places, where Trump has been obsessed for years with leveling the Democratic Blue Wall, and where Trump has zeroed in on flipping the Upper Midwestern state. He nearly won there in 2016, coming within 2 points of Hillary Clinton, the closest of any GOP nominee since Richard Nixon. Tonight, Trump will headline the Minnesota GOP’s Lincoln Reagan Dinner in St. Paul. And once again, he and his allies are boasting that the Democratic-heavy state is in play.

KNOW YOUR PLACE — Donald Trump’s V.P. search remains in its early stages, reports the New York Times. His team is still considering, for example, how much weight to give a contender’s ability to raise money versus his or her political upside. But there is a growing consensus around the former president that he is leaning toward more experienced options who can campaign for the ticket without appearing to promote themselves.

For instance, he has shown an uptick in interest in relatively conventional Republicans like Doug Burgum, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida and Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina.

AROUND THE WORLD

ON THE GUEST LIST — France’s decision to invite Russia to attend the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings has stoked tensions with allied nations as leaders prepare to gather on the Normandy beaches on June 6.

Last month, Paris caught Western countries off guard when D-Day organizers announced they were extending an invitation to Moscow even as Russia launches a fresh offensive on Ukraine. Officials from the United Kingdom, United States and two other World War II allies expressed concerns over the move, raising questions ranging from the symbolic nature of the occasion, protocol issues and queries about diplomatic engagement with Russian representatives.

The White House is not pleased about the move, two administration officials told POLITICO. “We would defer to the government of France, which organizes the commemoration at Normandy,” one of the officials said. “But perhaps this will remind the Russians that they actually fought real Nazis once, not imaginary ones in Ukraine.”

A U.K. government official said that France’s actions — not only the D-Day invitation but also hosting Chinese President Xi Jinping this month and sending a representative to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inauguration — were “disturbing.”

A diplomat from another European nation said Paris “took everyone by surprise” with the invitation to Russia. The same diplomat expressed frustration over the lack of communication since the announcement in light of the high level of representation from several countries. U.S. President Joe Biden, Britain’s King Charles and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz are expected to attend.

Nightly Number

RADAR SWEEP

VIBE SHIFT — The decriminalization of weed in Thailand in June 2022 has led to a sea change in the culture of the country. At shops in Bangkok, on tourist boats or at beachside bars, marijuana is regularly available. It’s made storefronts in Bangkok look different and brought tourists to the country, as the Thai Chamber of Commerce estimated in 2022 that the sector could be worth $1.2 billion by 2025. In a photo essay with words from Rebecca Radcliffe, Dougie Wallace documents that shift in culture for The Guardian.

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