Defense counsel set the stage for Stormy Daniels’ explicit testimony about Donald Trump in their opening statements by denying the alleged affair ever occurred, a Manhattan judge ruled Thursday as he denied a motion for a mistrial.

“Your denial puts the jury in a position of having to choose who they believe,” Acting Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan told Todd Blanche, who had just argued that Daniels’ testimony amounted to “a dog whistle for rape.”