Trump attacked Carroll, who earlier this week won $5 million in compensation and punitive damages from Trump, calling his sexual assault allegations “false” and a “made up narrative.”
I do not know her. He was someone I had never met. In response to a question from CNN’s Kaitlan Collins regarding the rape trial, in which he was found guilty of sexual assault, Trump said, “I had no idea who she was.
The rest of Trump’s reaction drew laughter and applause from the live audience, according to The Associated Press. Trump “dismissed a question from Collins as to whether it would hurt his standing with female voters and in response he recited Carroll’s accusations in a mocking manner,” according to the AP.
Carroll accused Trump of raping her in the dressing room of a Bergdorf Goodman store in the 1990s in 2019. Carroll filed a defamation lawsuit against Trump after his quick denial of the charges and callous assaults on her. Carroll also sued the former president in civil court, accusing him of rape.
The Times said Thursday morning that Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, who won her case earlier in the week, “gave her the transcript of her statements, and she only read the first line.” .
Carroll told The Times that “better people” have criticized her and that “it’s just silly, it’s just terrible, horrible, disgusting, and it scares people.”
“On behalf of young American men, I am upset. They are unable to accept this nonsense and this outdated caveman perspective on women,” Carroll said.
When The Times approached Kaplan about another libel suit, he said, “It’s all on the table, certainly, and we need to give it serious consideration.” We have to balance the many pros and cons, and we’ll probably make a choice within a day or two.