Donald Trump trial: Jury watches Trump affirm ‘largely true’ Access Hollywood tape claims
Kaelan Deese
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The jury slated to decide whether Donald Trump is liable for defamation after he denied writer E. Jean Carroll‘s claims he raped her decades ago were shown taped testimony of the former president on Thursday in which Trump made joking quips about his accuser and the case.
“She’s not my type… it’s not politically correct to say it. I know that, but I’ll say it anyway,” Trump said during a deposition taken in October. He later turned to Carroll’s lawyer, Roberta Kaplan.
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“You wouldn’t be a choice of mine either,” Trump said to her face.
Attorneys for Carroll played nearly 30 minutes of excerpts from Trump’s deposition, including playing the infamous Access Hollywood video in which Trump gloated about grabbing women without their permission.
Kaplan did not respond to Trump’s repeated personal attacks but later asked him if he felt he could literally grab women “by the p****.”
“Historically that’s true with stars. If you look over the last million years, that’s largely true, unfortunately — or fortunately,” he said.
Kaplan then asked if Trump views himself as a star.
“Yeah,” Trump said.
Trump’s comments in the deposition represented a form of rebuttal to testimony the nine-member jury heard earlier this week from witnesses brought by Carroll.
On Tuesday, former stockbroker Jessica Leeds recounted her allegations that Trump groped her on a flight sometime in 1978.
Former People magazine journalist Natasha Stoynoff testified Wednesday that Trump assaulted and forcibly kissed her at his Florida-based resort when she took a break from interviewing his wife, Melania Trump, for a story about their one-year anniversary.
Trump stood by his public statement last year when he called Carroll’s story “a hoax” that was invented to sell a book she wrote. His claims are why Carroll brought the defamation case.
“I wrote it all myself,” Trump boasted. He also expressed significant doubt about the scenarios of the alleged assaults he is accused of.
“Can you imagine doing it on an airplane?” he asked Kaplan in a joking manner. “That’s almost as ridiculous as doing it in the dressing room at Bergdorf Goodman.” The latter location is the department store where Carroll alleges Trump slammed her against a dressing room wall before raping her.
While the trial is expected to end soon, with Trump’s attorneys indicating the former president will not testify in person, Trump teased that he just might show up before the jury begins deliberations next week.
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“I have to go back for a woman that made a false accusation about me, and I have a judge who is extremely hostile,” Trump said while visiting his golf course in Ireland. “And I’m going to go back, and I’m going to confront this. This woman is a disgrace, and it shouldn’t be allowed to happen in our country.”
The trial is expected to continue into next week. While he will not face jail time, the jury could rule that Trump has to pay Carroll damages, potentially millions of dollars.