The split screen of Donald Trump’s re-election campaign and his parade of legal cases was on full display on Tuesday, as the Republican frontrunner, fresh off a victory in the Iowa caucuses, took his seat in yet another New York courtroom to face a multimillion dollar defamation suit.

E Jean Carroll, a columnist who Mr Trump was previously found liable of sexually assaulting in the 1990s, is now seeking damages for defamatory statements he made about her during his presidency.

Seated a few rows behind her, the former president stared intently at the woman he claims he “never met, saw, or touched… and knows absolutely nothing about”.

Ms Carroll, for her part, did not appear to look at him. She faced towards the bench for nearly all of the proceedings, allowing Mr Trump only a view of her back.

Unlike his last appearance in a Manhattan court – just last week, in an entirely different case – Mr Trump did not speak in the courtroom. But his restless and attentive posture projected a sense of agitation.