Last week, a jury granted E. Jean Carroll a substantial $83.3 million in damages following her claims of defamation against Donald Trump — whose real crime was defending himself against the dubious accusations that he sexually assaulted her in the 1990s.
While leftists no doubt cheered at the insanely large sum of money the jury ordered him to pay Carroll, recent developments have not only raised major doubts about whether the verdict will hold up upon appeal but also whether this gross abuse of the justice system will cause significant backlash and help propel him back to the Oval Office.
For sure, this is not what Carroll was going for. During a recent appearance on "CBS Mornings," an interviewer asked Carroll if Joe Biden's campaign had reached out to her. She said they hadn’t but expressed a willingness to help, stating, “I’ll do anything I can."
In a separate interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos on "Good Morning America," she boasted how she would use the damages money on "something Donald Trump hates."
But her most damaging interview was with Rachel Maddow on MSNBC. Maddow gave her a transparent set-up question about how she might use the money to "shore up women's rights,” and I can’t imagine that Maddow or Carroll’s lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, were thrilled by her response.
"Yes, Rachel! Yes!" Carroll exclaimed.
"Tell me,” Maddow prompted.
"I have such, such great ideas for all the good I'm going to do with this money,” Carroll responded. "We're going to get completely new wardrobes, new shoes, motorcycle for Crowley, new fishing rod for Robbie. Rachel, what do you want, a penthouse? It's yours, Rachel."
“Nothing,” Maddow replied, laughing like it was funny or perhaps trying to play it off as a joke.
"Penthouse in France? You want France? You want to go fishing in France?" Carroll continued.
"No, no,” Maddow insisted.
At this point, I wonder if she regretted the question and tried to play it cool.
"All right. All right. Okay,” Carroll said.
Attorney Shawn Crowley had to step in and assure everyone watching that Carroll was only joking.
Rachel Maddow asks E. Jean Carroll what she's going to do with "Trump's money" to help "women's rights."
— Steve Krakauer (@SteveKrak) January 30, 2024
Carroll says she and Maddow will "go shopping, get completely new wardrobes, new shoes...Rachel, what do you want, penthouse?"
Her lawyer nervously says "that's a joke": pic.twitter.com/5LAx5xU5Uy
The clip has, of course, gone viral on social media, prompting much outrage. And Megyn Kelly belives that it could be consequential.
"This is the kind of clip that could win Trump the election,” she said in a post on X/Twitter.
Related: Nikki Haley Botches Response to $83.3 Million Jury Verdict Against Trump
Will this hand Trump the election? It certainly won’t hurt. Each indictment and blatant abuse of the legal system against him has only fortified his lead in the polls and supported the narrative that he’s being politically targeted. I certainly see this all helping Trump's appeal and boosting him in the election.
