New York, New York - Donald Trump's highly anticipated hush money trial began in Manhattan on Monday, making him the first ever former president in history to face criminal charges.

Looks like "Sleepy Don" showed up to court on Day 1.

Early Monday morning, Trump made his way to the New York County Criminal Court, where he is facing 34 criminal charges for allegedly falsifying business records, in an attempt to hide hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels to cover up an affair. Perhaps it was a sleepless night before for the former president.

Upon arriving at the court around 9:30 AM, Trump lamented to reporters, describing the case as a "political persecution" and "an assault on America."

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"That's why I'm very proud to be here," he added.

As the trial proceeded, a number of important details of the case were discussed and decided on, which could affect its outcome.

For starters, Judge Juan Merchan, who is overseeing the trial, reaffirmed his prior ruling that Trump's infamous Access Hollywood tape could not be used by prosecutors, but the transcript of the audio is allowed to be read.

Judge Merchan also denied a request from the defense team for him to recuse himself from the case, and issued a warning to the former president against violating a gag order placed on the trial to keep Trump from attacking witnesses, court staff, or members of their families.

The remainder of the proceeding was spent questioning 96 potential jurors, and excusing many as the court works to bring the group down to 12, a process that could take up to two weeks.

One reporter noted that Trump appeared to fall asleep during the proceeding, causing #SleepyDon to begin trending on X.