Donald Trump is awaiting the outcome of his civil fraud trial in New York where he stands accused of routinely inflating the value of Trump Organization assets between 2011 and 2021 to secure favourable loans and insurance deals from lenders.

       The case was brought by state attorney general Letitia James, who is seeking $370m in fines and it is now up to Judge Arthur Engoron to deliver a verdict.

       Mr Trump, his adult sons and two former company executives have denied wrongdoing and the Republican has repeatedly attacked both Ms James and Judge Engoron on social media, accusing them of political bias.

       Meanwhile, the Republican front-runner’s conservative media allies have begun attacking the pop superstar Taylor Swift, picking up on a bizarre conspiracy theory that her fame is a Democratic “psy-op” intended to brainwash the public into following her in supporting Joe Biden at this year’s election, even though Ms Swift has yet to actually endorse the president.

       As Rolling Stone quotes a MAGA insider threatening a “holy war” against the star, a group of her fans has hit back: “Gen Z has a message for Trump: Go ahead and keep attacking Taylor Swift. We dare you.”