The sight of a scowling Donald Trump sitting in a New York courtroom, flanked by lawyers, is by now so common that it no longer surprises.

Still, there was an added, unspoken tension when the former — and perhaps future — US president appeared in Manhattan criminal court on Monday morning. The charges he was facing — for his alleged role in making hush money payments to a former adult porn actor — are not civil, but criminal. Therefore, it is not just his reputation or his bank account that are at stake. This time, Trump is at risk of losing his freedom.

That might explain why he appeared more docile during opening arguments than he has in other recent civil trials concerning his business practices and defamation of a New York writer. Dressed in a white shirt and blue tie, Trump maintained his steely mien throughout an abbreviated two-and-a-half hour session. On one occasion, he shook his head when a government prosecutor told the court he had interfered with the 2016 election. For the most part, though, Trump was subdued.