Trump used courtroom as 'campaign stop': E. Jean Carroll

Trump accuser E. Jean Carroll on Monday excoriated former President Donald Trump over his handling of her civil suit against him, insisting he used the courtroom as a "campaign stop" and the legal affair as a means of winning over voters.

Carroll made the remarks on "CNN This Morning," just days after a jury awarded her $83.3 million in damages stemming from Trump's 2019 denials of her claims that he raped her. Carroll came forward in 2019 claiming that Trump raped her a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room some time during the 1990s. Trump denied her claims at the time and maintains his innocence.

"This courtroom was not a courtroom to him. It was a campaign stop. That was clear. So, we had two different objectives. Ours was to win the case. His was to win voters," she said. "We'll see how that plays out. He's using me to win voters."

"He's an emperor without clothes. It's like looking at nothing. It was like, nothing."



E. Jean Carroll joins with lawyer Roberta Kaplan to discuss what it was like being in a room with Donald Trump for the first time in decades and why she thinks he can't win the 2024 election: pic.twitter.com/JWuDuoNajd

— CNN This Morning (@CNNThisMorning) January 29, 2024

A jury last year held him responsible for battery and defamation, but specifically determined that his conduct amounted to sexual abuse. The defamation element of that suit stemmed from comments he made after leaving office. Carroll's claims over the 2019 statements were delayed due to issues from Trump's claims to enjoy presidential immunity for making the comments while in office.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.