Court Battles

Trump blasts Carroll as he attends trial in New York

Former President Trump went on a posting spree on Truth Social targeting writer E. Jean Carroll as he attended a defamation trial in New York City, where a jury will determine how much Trump must pay for defaming a longtime advice columnist.

Trump spent the night in New York City after winning the Iowa caucuses on Monday, and he arrived at the courthouse in Manhattan on Tuesday morning. After arriving, he posted more than a dozen times on Truth Social attacking Carroll and dismissing her claims that he sexually assaulted her decades ago.

“The only right, honest, and lawful thing that Clinton-appointed Judge Lewis Kaplan, who has so far been unable to see clearly because of his absolute hatred of Donald J. Trump (ME!), can do is to end this unAmerican injustice being done to a President of the United States, who was wrongfully accused by a woman he never met, saw, or touched (a photo line does not count!), and knows absolutely nothing about,” Trump wrote.

The former president claimed it would have been impossible for him to have interacted with Carroll at the time she claimed he assaulted her because he has “been considered an A-List celebrity for many decades” and would have been noticed by bystanders.

Trump called on the judge to end the case, claiming he had been wrongly accused by Carroll, who Trump described as a “woman seeking fame, fortune, and publicity for her ridiculous Book!”


Trump also posted screenshots of numerous old social media posts from Carroll made in which she openly discussed sex.

Last year, a jury concluded Trump sexually abused Carroll in the mid-1990s at a New York City department store and later defamed her, awarding Carroll $5 million. Trump vehemently denies her claims.

Now, Carroll is taking Trump to civil trial again. This time, she seeks at least $10 million in damages for Trump’s denials when the former “Elle” columnist first came forward publicly with her claims in 2019.

Trump has already been found liable in the case, so the trial, expected to last upwards of one week, will focus on determining how much Trump must pay. 

The former president arrived at the courthouse around 9 a.m. Tuesday. He has a campaign rally in New Hampshire scheduled for 5 p.m.