A guard at Trump's court hearing has become an instant icon

Donald Trump’s historic court hearing has spawned an unlikely hero after a security guard failed to show him the subservience he would expect.

On Tuesday, the king of MAGA travelled to New York to become the first-ever former US president to be indicted on criminal charges, which relate to hush-money he paid back in 2016.

The 76-year-old is accused of falsifying business records in an attempt to cover up extramarital affairs he’d allegedly had with Playboy model Karen McDougal and porn star Stormy Daniels.

A video posted by the Associated Press to Twitter showed Trump entering Manhattan’s Criminal Court for his landmark arraignment, where he later pleaded not guilty to 34 felony charges.

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But rather than focus on the magnitude of the moment, viewers became transfixed by his treatment by the people around him.

Rather than the bowing and scraping to which celebrities and former world leaders are accustomed, Trump was handled like any other defendant, and nearly had a door slam in his face.

Pundits were quick to seize on the clip, with CNN host Anderson Cooper remarking: “There’s a court officer, I believe, who enters before him, doesn’t hold the door open for him.

“And the former president actually has to push the door open for himself, which is probably the first time he’s had to do that in quite some time.“

Former White House communications director Alyssa Farah Griffin agreed, adding that this gesture alone “will stick with him” in a “symbolic way”.

She said Trump would notice the “lack of pomp and circumstance, the lack of service being provided for him”, adding: “Just that moment – that could have been a stark one that stands out to him.”

Meanwhile, social media users revelled in the guard’s move, hailing him as an icon:

One commentator, claiming to be an NYC lawyer, pointed out: “NYS court officers don’t hold the door open for anyone … ever.”

But others replied that this made the whole thing “even better”.

“The tough/arrogant, non-specific, equal opportunity rudeness is just how those guys roll,” one wrote. “The normalcy was delightful.”

However, others noted that the guard did hold the door briefly, but Trump failed to catch it.

One commented: “He did hold it very briefly, as a normal person would when they knew someone was right behind them.

“A normal person would put their hand out to hold the door open for themselves as they followed. Trump is not a normal person.”

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