When former President Donald J. Trump was inveighing against E. Jean Carroll on CNN Wednesday night, at least one person was not watching: Ms. Carroll.
She was asleep and did not learn of his comments calling her claim of a decades-old sexual assault “fake” and a “made-up story” until Thursday morning, when her lawyer sent her a transcript, she said.
“It’s just stupid, it’s just disgusting, vile, foul, it wounds people,” Ms. Carroll said in an interview with The New York Times on Thursday, adding that she had been “insulted by better people.”
Mr. Trump’s comments came just one day after a Manhattan jury awarded Ms. Carroll $5 million in damages and found him liable for sexually abusing her in the mid-1990s in a department store dressing room and also for defaming her on his Truth Social platform.
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Mr. Trump, in response to questions from the CNN moderator about the Manhattan jury’s verdict Tuesday, called Ms. Carroll a “wack job” and said her civil trial was “a rigged deal.” The audience had been drawn primarily from Republican groups, and his comments drew applause and laughter.
Ms. Carroll said she was infuriated when her longtime stylist told her on Thursday morning that the stylist’s 15-year-old son was talking about what Mr. Trump had said on television Wednesday.
“I am upset on the behalf of young men in America,” Ms. Carroll said. “They cannot listen to this balderdash and this old-timey view of women, which is a cave man view.”
Ms. Carroll, 79, is now weighing whether to file a new defamation lawsuit against Mr. Trump, said her lawyer, Roberta A. Kaplan. In addition to the case that ended Tuesday, Ms. Carroll has an earlier defamation suit against Mr. Trump, 76, that is still pending. Mr. Trump has argued in that case that he cannot be sued because he made those comments in his official capacity as president.
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The former president continued to deny being at the department store where he sexually abused Ms. Carroll. Credit...Sophie Park for The New York Times
Ms. Carroll made it clear in the interview that despite Mr. Trump’s mockery, she saw the jury’s verdict this week as validating her account that he sexually assaulted her in the mid-1990s, something he has denied repeatedly and loudly.
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“I’m thrilled that we won,” she said. “That’s it. He did it. He knows he did it.”
Mr. Trump’s lawyer, Joseph Tacopina, filed a notice of appeal for Mr. Trump on Thursday.
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She was asleep and did not learn of his comments calling her claim of a decades-old sexual assault “fake” and a “made-up story” until Thursday morning, when her lawyer sent her a transcript, she said.
“It’s just stupid, it’s just disgusting, vile, foul, it wounds people,” Ms. Carroll said in an interview with The New York Times on Thursday, adding that she had been “insulted by better people.”
Mr. Trump’s comments came just one day after a Manhattan jury awarded Ms. Carroll $5 million in damages and found him liable for sexually abusing her in the mid-1990s in a department store dressing room and also for defaming her on his Truth Social platform.
Story continues below advertisement
Continue reading the main story
Mr. Trump, in response to questions from the CNN moderator about the Manhattan jury’s verdict Tuesday, called Ms. Carroll a “wack job” and said her civil trial was “a rigged deal.” The audience had been drawn primarily from Republican groups, and his comments drew applause and laughter.
Ms. Carroll said she was infuriated when her longtime stylist told her on Thursday morning that the stylist’s 15-year-old son was talking about what Mr. Trump had said on television Wednesday.
“I am upset on the behalf of young men in America,” Ms. Carroll said. “They cannot listen to this balderdash and this old-timey view of women, which is a cave man view.”
Ms. Carroll, 79, is now weighing whether to file a new defamation lawsuit against Mr. Trump, said her lawyer, Roberta A. Kaplan. In addition to the case that ended Tuesday, Ms. Carroll has an earlier defamation suit against Mr. Trump, 76, that is still pending. Mr. Trump has argued in that case that he cannot be sued because he made those comments in his official capacity as president.
Image
The former president continued to deny being at the department store where he sexually abused Ms. Carroll. Credit...Sophie Park for The New York Times
Ms. Carroll made it clear in the interview that despite Mr. Trump’s mockery, she saw the jury’s verdict this week as validating her account that he sexually assaulted her in the mid-1990s, something he has denied repeatedly and loudly.
Story continues below advertisement
Continue reading the main story
“I’m thrilled that we won,” she said. “That’s it. He did it. He knows he did it.”
Mr. Trump’s lawyer, Joseph Tacopina, filed a notice of appeal for Mr. Trump on Thursday.
E. Jean Carroll May Sue Trump a Third Time After ‘Vile’ Comments on CNN
In an interview, her lawyer said that the former president’s mocking comments in a town hall broadcast could create fresh legal jeopardy.
