Author E Jean Carroll takes stand in New York court, accusing Donald Trump of rape

On Wednesday, E Jean Carroll, an advice columnist, testified to a New York jury that former United States President Donald Trump had raped her, resulting in her inability to engage in romantic relationships. She also claimed that Trump had “shattered my reputation” by denying the assault.

In her civil lawsuit, Carroll testified about her claim for damages for battery, which she alleges was committed by Trump in 1996 when he allegedly sexually assaulted her in a changing room of a New York department store. She also testified about her claim for defamation, as she says Trump accused her of lying and fabricating the assault when she made her allegations public in a book.

“I’m here because Donald Trump raped me, and when I wrote about it, he said it didn’t happen. He lied and shattered my reputation. I’m here to try and get my life back,” she told the jury.

Trump denies accusations of rape

Prior to Carroll's testimony, Judge Lewis Kaplan cautioned that Trump's actions may constitute jury-tampering, following his social media post on his new platform, Truth Social. In the post, Trump criticised Carroll's allegations as a "made-up SCAM" and a "witch-hunt."

Kaplan called Trump’s post “entirely inappropriate” and warned they could become “a potential source of liability” for him. After she took the stand, Carroll described running into Trump as she was leaving the Bergdorf Goodman luxury department store, reported The Guardian.

“He said, ‘I need to buy a gift, come help me,’” she said. “I was delighted.” Carroll said she suggested a handbag and then a hat for the woman Trump said he was buying for but he wasn’t interested. “He picked up a fur hat and he was petting it like a cat or a dog. Then he said, ‘I know, lingerie,’” she said. “He led the way to the escalator.”

Carroll described Trump as very talkative, and herself as “absolutely enchanted”. “I was delighted to go to lingerie with him. He was very funny,” she said. Carroll said Trump “snatched up” a grey-blue bodysuit in the lingerie department and demanded she try it on. “I had no intention of putting it on. I said, ‘You put it on, it’s your colour,’” she told the court.

Carroll said Trump suggested they both try it on, and motioned toward the dressing room. She said she did not take it seriously. “Donald Trump was being very light. It was very joshing and very funny,” she said. “I was flirting the whole time, probably.”

But, she said, the mood changed rapidly after they stepped into the dressing room. “He immediately shut the door and shoved me up against the wall. He shoved me so hard my head banged. I was extremely confused,” she said. “I pushed back and he thrust me back against the wall again, banging my head again.”

Carroll told the jury the situation “turned absolutely dark”. “He leaned down and pulled down my tights,” she said. “I was pushing him back. It was quite clear I didn’t want anything else to happen.”

Carroll described the former president’s attempts to kiss her as “a shocking thing”. “My whole reason for being alive at that moment was to get out of the room,” she said.

But Carroll said she could not escape Trump’s grip. Speaking quietly and slowly, she said he raped her. Carroll said she escaped after she was able to lift her knee and push him off. She fled the store. Carroll said she will always regret going into the dressing room with Trump, describing it as “very stupid”. “It left me unable to ever have a romantic life again,” she said.

Settling a personal score, not political: Carroll

During her testimony, Carroll became emotional and shed tears as she described how she was unable to smile at men she was attracted to after the alleged rape and had not had sex since. She also admitted to putting on a public persona of being an "invincible old lady" but struggling privately. Although she had claimed in her book that she did not suffer mental anguish as a result of the assault, she clarified that was her public persona speaking while her private self had indeed suffered.

Carroll acknowledged the contradiction between her role as an advice columnist and her own failure to seek therapy or go to the police. She denied that her political views motivated her lawsuit against Trump, stating that she was settling a personal score.

Carroll explained that she had faced significant abuse from Trump and his supporters for speaking out about the alleged attack. She lost her reputation, and even those who knew her looked at her with pity, while others saw her as a liar and hated her. The force of the hatred coming at her was staggering, and she was fired from her advice column at Elle magazine after 26 years.

When asked if she regretted accusing Trump, Carroll's voice broke as she responded that she regretted it about 100 times but that being able to have her day in court finally was everything to her.

The trial is ongoing.