NEW YORK — Donald Trump’s loyal former White House aide Hope Hicks testified at his Manhattan trial Friday, tearing up when questioning turned to what Trump knew about his fixer’s hush money payoff to porn star Stormy Daniels.

Trump’s former White House communications director and campaign spokeswoman, once considered among the former president’s closest confidants, was referencing the only conversation she said she ever had with Trump about the payoff to Daniels.

Hicks said it was in February 2018 after The New York Times reported that Michael Cohen had issued a $130,000 payment to Daniels on the eve of the 2016 election, denying Trump had anything to do with it.

“President Trump (was) saying he spoke to Michael and that Michael had paid this woman to protect him from a false allegation and that, you know, Michael felt like it was his job to protect him and that’s what he was doing. He did it out of the kindness of his own heart.”

“I’d say that would be out of character for Michael,” Hicks said. “I didn’t know Michael to be an especially charitable person or selfless person, um, (he’s) the kind of person who seeks credit.”

Assistant District Attorney Matthew Colangelo then asked if Trump ever said anything about timing, prompting Hicks’ answer about Trump saying it would have been worse had it been reported before the election.

“Mr. Trump’s opinion was it was better to be dealing with it now and that it would have been bad to have that story come out before the election,” Hicks testified.

Lawyers for the presumptive Republican frontrunner in this year’s presidential race have contended that payoffs to Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal were not inherently criminal — that Trump wanted to protect his reputation and his family.

But the testimony by Hicks bolstered the prosecution’s allegations that Trump was instead motivated by his political ambitions. Moments later, when Trump lawyer Emil Bove began his cross-examination, she broke down into tears, prompting Judge Juan Merchan to abruptly call a brief recess.

In 2019, Hicks told the House Judiciary Committee that she was directed to make a public statement denying he’d once had a relationship with former Playboy model Karen McDougal. She denied knowing about hush money.

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