Many of the prospective alternates having been speaking freely about their opinions of former President Trump during individual questioning by defense attorney Susan Necheles.

As the former president looked on, one man said there were many categories to Trump: "He's a family man. He's a businessman," the man said. "Clearly he has brought a lot of value to the economy."

But he said his opinion was split over Trump himself.

"I really like lower taxes in this country. I like lower regulation," the man said. "When I think about the Republican Party and why we bring religion and women's rights with their own bodies," that's where he said he splits from Trump, concluding his impression is both "neutral and positive."

Another man conceded he posted online a handful of times about Trump in 2016 and "around the time of the insurrection." Asked for his impression of Trump, he responded, "I'd say it's fairly negative."

"You continue to hold that opinion of a strong dislike?" Necheles asked him. "Based on his rhetoric," the man answered, though he declared himself open-minded.

"What is your opinion?" Necheles asked another prospective alternate, the management consultant who likes the outdoors.

"I think not in agreement with a lot of policies. But it's also something that I've had to take a step back and really talk to a lot of people who are close to me that he has connected with," he responded. "You need to take both sides."

Defense attorney Susan Necheles has been questioning a woman who works for the New York City Law Department and who indicated she participated in the Women's March.

"Do you have strong feelings about former President Trump?" Necheles asked. "Not at the moment," the woman said. "I think my personal biases or opinions about President Trump are focused on his base. I think his rhetoric at times gives people permission to act on their negative impulses."

The woman said she used to box at the gym where she heard homophobic comments or racist comments "that would cite President Trump," but she said "that's an issue for me at the ballot box to deal with, not in the courtroom."

Trump turned in his seat to listen to the woman's responses.

The former president also appeared interested when a different prospective alternate complimented his "family unit," which she said "seems strong."

Earlier, as Necheles was questioning jurors about weighing the credibility of witnesses, a woman interrupted to ask Judge Merchan, "May I approach the bench?"

The woman indicated she was uncomfortable with what Necheles was asking.

"I feel that, through this line of questioning, I'm getting the same feeling of anxiety and self-doubt," the woman said.

The judge excused her after a short conference at the bench.

The prospective alternate who said her father was a friend of Chris Christie's broke down crying during the individual questioning of prospective jurors, telling assistant DA Susan Hoffinger, "This is so much more stressful than I thought it would be."

Hoffinger was quizzing potential alternates about their views of the burden of proof that prosecutors are required to meet.

"I have to be honest, I feel so nervous and anxious right now," the woman said, breaking into tears. "I'm sorry, I thought I could do this. I wouldn't want someone who feels this way to judge my case."

Judge Merchan called her up to the bench for a private conversation and excused her from the pool.

When the questioning resumed, another prospective alternate turned the tables on Hoffinger. "May I ask you a question?" he said. "The burden of proof is subjective to each individual juror?"

Hoffinger explained that "there is only one burden of proof" and that prosecutors are obligated to prove Trump's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The man said he accepted that, and that he would not hold prosecutors to an even higher standard because Trump is a former president.

As the prospective alternates continue to answer the questionnaire questions one by one, some jurors have revealed loose connections to Trump and others surrounding the case.

A young woman who works in financial services said that her father is a "lifelong friend" of Chris Christie, the former New Jersey governor who then ran Trump's 2016 transition team before becoming a critic of the former president.

The mention of Christie's name drew a rare laugh from Trump.

The woman also revealed a loose connection to Trump's former attorney Michael Cohen.

A man who lives in Midtown and said he uses his spare time to "try to find a wife" said he has multiple family members who work for the New York State Court -- and is related to a court officer who's currently present in the courtroom. Trump attorney Todd Blanche let out a laugh.

The man said it wouldn't affect his ability to be fair and impartial.

One woman stood up and tearfully explained she served time in Massachusetts over 10 years ago. Trump appeared to crane his neck and turn all the way to look at her, before Judge Merchan called her to the bench for a sidebar.

"I apologize for crying," the woman said as she continued with her questionnaire.

Trump has been sitting at the defense table flipping through papers that contain either charts, photos or graphics.

Former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker testified on cross-examination that the publication's limited involvement in Stormy Daniels' hush money payment was unrelated to the August 2015 Trump Tower meeting where Pecker vowed to serve as the "eyes and ears" of Trump's presidential campaign.

Pecker's testimony on cross-examination about the Daniels story appeared consistent with his testimony yesterday about his strong desire not to be involved in the Stormy Daniels payment.

Pecker said yesterday that he did not want to be involved in the story due to concerns about reputational harm to the National Enquirer and a lack of reimbursement for the other payments he had made to suppress previous Trump stories.

"I said, we already paid $30,000 to the doorman, we paid $150,000 to Karen McDougal, and I am not a bank. I am not paying out any further disbursements among us," Pecker testified yesterday. Pecker said he instructed National Enquirer Chief Content Officer Dylan Howard to flag the Stormy Daniels story to Michael Cohen, who made the payment to Daniels himself.

Asked about Daniels' payment on cross-examination, Pecker said that the National Enquirer's limited involvement was unrelated to their vow to Trump.

"You did not consider the Stormy Daniels story to be part of any agreement you had in August 2015?" defense attorney Emil Bove asked.

"That is correct," Pecker said.

"You wanted nothing to do with it?" Bove said.

"That's correct," Pecker said.

Pecker added that he did not "authorize" Howard to continue communicating with Stormy Daniels' lawyer Keith Davidson about the payment.

When Howard raised concerns to Pecker that Davidson had not yet been paid by Michael Cohen, Pecker said he was angry that Howard continued to communicate with Davidson about the story. In addition to the nature of the story -- which Pecker said could endanger the National Enquirer's relationship with its distributors -- Pecker said Cohen's delay in paying Daniels' lawyer could result in reputational harm to the National Enquirer.

"Frankly, you were not happy to be hearing that?" Bove asked about Cohen's delayed payment.

"Yes," Pecker said.

"The main concern was Howard's reputation?" Bove asked.

"Yes," Pecker said.