Protestors outside the lower Manhattan courthouse where former president Donald Trump defended himself Monday waved American flags and held signs with sayings including, "Insurrectionists can't run for president."

Former President Donald Trump exploded less than two hours into testifying at his $250 million civil fraud trial in Manhattan on Monday — pointing at the judge while accusing him of “fraud” and calling the state attorney general a “hack.”

Trump, 77, started his testimony in hushed tones, but lost his cool after Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron threatened to throw him out for making “speeches” instead of giving direct answers on the stand.

New York Attorney General Letitia James is refusing to get drawn into a battle of words with former President Trump, even after he called her a "political hack" who is using his $250 million civil fraud case as a way to boost her political profile during his first day on the witness stand.

Speaking from outside the Manhattan courthouse this afternoon, James was calm and matter of fact when describing Trump's antics.

"He rambled, he hurled insults, but we expected that," the career prosecutor told a large group of assembled reporters.

"At the end of the day the documentary evidence demonstrates that in fact he falsely inflated his assets to basically enrich himself and his family," adding that the former president "persistently engaged in fraud."

She brushed off Trump's harsh words as "distractions," and vowed she would not let it interfere with seeing the case through to its conclusion.

"Mr. Trump can obviously engage in all of these distractions and that is exactly what he did, what he committed on the stand today, engaging in distractions and engaging in name-calling," she said.

"But I will not be bullied, I will not be harassed, this case will go on."

Trump went on a two-minute rant outside the courtroom after trial wrapped for the day, telling reporters that the case should be "dismissed immediately."

"The fraud was on behalf of the court. The court was the fraudster in this case," he said.

"Everything we did was absolutely right," Trump continued.

"I think it’s a very sad day for America," he said, "but anyway, this is a case that should have never been brought and it’s a case that should be immediately dismissed."

Alina Habba, former President Trump’s young firebrand lawyer, has been tough to miss in the courtroom, not only for her perfectly coiffed hair and penchant for designer suits and handbags, but for her vigorous and at times sharply worded defense of the 2024 GOP frontrunner.

Habba became a nationally recognized figure virtually overnight when she was hired as his personal attorney in 2021. The 39-year-old former fashion industry executive, who once worked alongside New York fashion designer Marc Jacobs, is representing Trump in his landmark $250 million civil fraud trial. 

Her brash words and style often seem to channel Trump himself. Outside the Manhattan courtroom on Monday, the former president’s first day on the witness stand, Habba slammed Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron as “unhinged” following a row with the judge overseeing the case.

During the day’s proceedings, Habba rose to her feet and took Engoron to task for cutting Trump off as he gave lengthy testimony about his golf course in Aberdeen, Scotland, which included the boast that it “may be the greatest golf course in the world.”

“I am not here to listen to what he has to say!” the judge said as he instructed Habba to sit down.

The slight did not sit well with Habba, who argued Engoron was in fact there to listen to what Trump had to say and insisting on her client’s right to give lengthy answers. 

“I was told to sit down today. I was yelled at and I’ve had a judge, who is unhinged, slamming a table. Let me be very clear: I don’t tolerate that in my life. I’m not going to tolerate it here,” she later told reporters.

Donald Trump concluded his testimony in the fraud case around 3:15 p.m., ending trial for the day and leaving only Ivanka Trump's testimony before the AG's case wraps.

Trial will not resume until Wednesday as courts are closed Tuesday for elections.

AG lawyer Kevin Wallace's last question of the former president was whether he would change the way his company made the financial statements that are at the heart of the AG's case.

"I have not heard of any, but it's possible they will recommend something," Trump answered, before stepping off the witness stand.

His testimony lasted for roughly three and a half hours.

The AG's case will conclude after Ivanka's testimony, and Trump's side will then put on its defense case. Trump's side has listed 128 possible witness, though it's not clear exactly how many of those it will actually call.

Donald Trump has floated several defenses during his testimony so far -- including that a disclaimer clause on the financial statements that he's accused of falsifying keeps him in the clear.

His defenses to questions from a lawyer with the AG's office have primarily revolved around the annual statements of financial condition on which AG Letitia James claims he lied from 2011 through 2021, inflating his assets for loan and insurance purposes.

These yearly statements contained a section saying that Trump promised to provide a "fair representation" of the financial filings in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.

"I think that the statements of financial conditions were very good, were actually somewhat conservative, and they were totally protected, and so was I, by the disclaimer clause," the former president said from the witness stand Monday afternoon.

Some of Trump's other defenses include his claims that the yearly statements weren't important in obtaining loans and securing business deals and that they actually undervalued his net worth.

He also claimed that he repaid all the bank loans he took out, so no one was actually "harmed" and there is no "victim."

“They were paid in full. There was no victim," Trump said, before adding "Everyone is trying to figure out, why are you [the prosecutor] doing this? Nobody understands it but I understand it … it’s called politics.”

Still, the law under which the real estate tycoon was sued doesn't require actual harm if he's found liable for fraud.

Donald Trump's social media account posted an attack against New York Attorney General Letitia James while the former president was sitting inside a courtroom.

The Truth Social post went up at 2:17 p.m., minutes after Trump re-entered Manhattan Supreme Court following a lunch break. It was not immediately clear whether Trump himself made the post.

It included a photo of James with the text "I think that she's a political hack," citing Trump's own words on the witness stand from before the lunch break.

The former president exploded earlier Monday during a grilling by an AG lawyer, attacking James and the judge, saying: "The fraud is on the court and not on me ... The fraud is on her!”

Judge Arthur Engoron previously issued a limited gag order barring Trump from speaking about Engoron's court staff, but he didn't go as far as ordering the real estate tycoon not to speak about the jurist.

Engoron has fined Trump a total of $15,000 during trial, finding that he has twice violated the order by speaking publicly about Engoron's law clerk.

The trial resumed shortly after 2:15 p.m., with Trump getting back on the witness stand.

AG's office attorney Kevin Wallace is questioning Trump about loans the former president took out with Deutsche Bank's private wealth management group.

Trump's personal attorney, Alina Habba, ranted against the judge overseeing the case while speaking to TV cameras outside court during the lunch break.

“I was told to sit down today. I was yelled at and I’ve had a judge, who is unhinged, slamming a table. Let me be very clear: I don’t tolerate that in my life. I’m not going to tolerate it here," she said.

Habba also brought up Trump's polling numbers in the 2024 presidential race, and claimed the country was "falling apart."

Earlier, Habba stood up and interrupted the proceedings, telling Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron he was there to listen to what Trump had to say and arguing her client should be allowed to give long answers.

"I am not here to listen to what he has to say!" the judge said as he told Habba to "sit down."

Right here:

Asked how the proceedings were going, Trump gave a thumbs-up as he walked out of the courtroom for the lunch break.

His testimony is set to resume at 2:15 p.m.

Donald Trump's courtroom decorum began to break down as the former president started yelling and attacking the judge and the attorney general from the witness stand.

Trump had been testifying for the previous two hours in hushed tones until he became visibly agitated, speaking loudly, saying that Justice Arthur Engoron and New York Attorney General Letitia James were "trying to hurt" him.

The real estate tycoon called James a "political hack," accusing her of using "this case to become governor" and having used it to gain her current post.

Then Trump went after Engoron, pointing at the jurist and proclaiming, "Everybody's watching this case. He called me a fraud and he didn't know anything about me."

"The fraud is on the court and not on me," he continued to rant.

"When you rule Mar-A-Lago is worth $18 million and she rules it's worth $25 million, either people are very stupid or there's a fraud. The fraud is on behalf of the court."

In a decision from days before trial began, Engoron found Trump responsible for some of James' main fraud allegations and cited a Florida official's appraisal of the Palm Beach golf club at a maximum of $27 million while Trump has claimed it's worth as much as $1.5 billion.

"He said I'm a fraud because I didn't value my property correctly," Trump continued to loudly ramble. "He's the one who didn't rule my property correctly."

Trump insisted he did a "great job" as president.

Finally, AG lawyer Kevin Wallace asked, "You're done?"

"I'm done," Trump responded.