At CNN’s town hall with Donald Trump Wednesday night, the former president responded to a jury finding him liable the day before for a sexual assault—by calling his accuser a “wack job” and repeating the same misogynistic tropes he said in his deposition to the delight of an adoring crowd.
“I don't know her. I never met her. I have no idea who she is,” Trump claimed to a cheering auditorium at Saint Anselm College. “I had a picture taken years ago with her and her husband.”
Trump then went on to frame the version of events from his accuser—journalist E. Jean Carroll—as a complete fantasy, sarcastically saying he was “immediately attracted to her.”
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“She was immediately attracted to me. And we had this great chemistry,” he said facetiously. “We're walking into a crowded department. We had this great chemistry—and a few minutes later we ended up in a dressing room.”
A federal jury on Tuesday found Trump liable for sexual assault, finding Carroll’s story credible that Trump attacked her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the spring of 1996. Carroll took the stand to detail her story—while Trump did not. Throughout the entirety of the trial, Trump denied knowing Carroll and repeatedly insisted Carroll was not his “type.”
In a deposition, Trump also confused Carroll with his ex-wife Marla Maples.
“What kind of a woman meets somebody and brings them up and within minutes you're playing Hanky Panky in a dressing room?” Trump said Wednesday night, bringing raucous laughter from the selected crowd that seemed heavily partial to the former president, and that beamed at his recollection of the events.
Trump also repeated his controversial remarks that celebrities get away with sexually assaulting people “unfortunately or fortunately.” He once again claimed this practice had been going on for “a million years.”
Trump’s legal team has said they plan to appeal the decision. As of now, Trump is liable for $5 million in damages against Carroll on account of battery and defamation. Trump spent a solid chunk of Tuesday bashing Carroll on his Truth Social platform—and made no indication he’d shy away from the case, even as legal proceedings appear set to continue.
