The jury selection process began on Monday but ended with dozens of candidates being dismissed after they acknowledged they would struggle to be fair and impartial.

Things looked ominous again on day two, when two prospective jurors were late – leaving Trump looking unimpressed as he sat with his defence team in the drab courtroom on the 15th floor of the New York County Supreme Court.

A third juror also had to be excused due to illness, followed by three more dismissals on the grounds of impartiality.

But just before midday, the first group of 18 prospective jurors made it through the initial round – a 42-part questionnaire designed to weed out potential biases – and into the second stage of direct questioning by lawyers.

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Assistant District Attorney Joshua Steinglass kicked things off by telling the group that the trial against the former president was “not a referendum on whether you like Donald Trump” or “who you’re going to vote for in November”.

“We don’t care. This case is about whether he broke the law,” he said.

But it was Trump’s lawyer, Todd Blanche, who asked the unavoidable question, given “every one of you knows president Trump”. So what opinion did they have of him?

“I don’t really have one,” said one potential juror, insisting she was there for her “civic duty”.

“Especially in this courtroom, he will be treated as anyone else can be treated. No one is above the law.”

Another woman said she “obviously” knew of Trump because she is female. Asked by Blanche what she meant, she replied: “I know that there have been opinions on how he doesn’t treat females correctly, stuff like that.”

However, she added: “I honestly don’t know the story. So I don’t have a view on it.”

And a third person – a Democrat who ended up being dismissed by the judge – replied: “If we were sitting in a bar, I’d be happy to tell you … But in this room what I feel about president Trump is not important.”

It was another surreal day – even for a man known for shattering norms and making history.

Situated in Lower Manhattan, the New York County Supreme Court has seen many high-profile defendants over the years, but perhaps none as well known as a former reality TV star-turned president, who is now campaigning to return to the White House.

And yet here, minus his usual bravado and bluster, and once again without his wife, Melania, by his side, Trump looked more like a weary, ordinary man.

On the first day of the trial, his alleged sexual encounters had been in full view of the court as lawyers argued over what evidence could be given to the jury.

Trump’s side scored a win when Judge Juan Merchan ruled that during the expected testimony of Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model who says she had an affair with Trump, there could be no mention of Melania being pregnant with their son, Barron, at the time, or that the affair continued when Melania was at home with a newborn.

Nor could prosecutors play to the jury the now infamous Access Hollywood tape in which Trump is heard bragging about grabbing women “by the p----”.

The main part of the trial, however, will focus on allegations he falsified three dozen business records in an attempt to cover up a hush money payment to Daniels, who says she had a brief sexual encounter with him in 2006.

Trump’s fixer and lawyer, Michael Cohen, paid Daniels $US130,000 ($203,000) to remain silent in the lead-up to the 2016 election.

But according to prosecutors, Cohen was later reimbursed by Trump, who allegedly disguised the payment as a legal retainer, thereby breaching campaign finance laws.

Trump, however, insists he is the victim of political persecution, telling reporters: “I was paying a lawyer and marked it down as a legal expense … That’s exactly what it was. And you get indicted over that?”

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