Trump's defense team was held back by Trump. Trump is running for office. He's not just trying to win the case, he's trying to maintain an image of perfection

Trump's defense team was held back by Trump. Trump is running for office. He's not just trying to win the case, he's trying to maintain an image of perfection for the voters. ("I didn't have sex with her at all, and all of this is just political persecution by a corrupt judge, orchestrated by a president who knows he's losing.") Trump's lawyers were handicapped because they had to try to maintain the image, not just win the case.