GOFFSTOWN, NH – Former President Donald Trump called a federal jury’s verdict that he was responsible for sexual abuse “a rigged deal” during a prime-time town hall of Republican and Independent voters Wednesday night in a crucial early presidential primary state.
The town hall, held at Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire, came a day after a New York jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing writer E. Jean Carroll at a high-end department store upscale Manhattan nearly three decades ago, but not responsible for the rape Carroll accused Trump of committing.
In addition to trashing the verdict, Trump claimed Carroll was “a crazy job.” The former president also reiterated that he had “never met this woman” and claimed that “it’s a fake story, a made up story”.
The jury found within hours Tuesday that Trump was also liable for defamation based on the former president’s denial of Carroll’s allegations in an October 2022 social media post, when he called her ” hoax” and “swindler”. The jury awarded Carroll nearly $5 million in damages for his assault and defamation charges.
TRUMP RIVAL TELLS FOX NEWS JURY’S VERDICT ‘THE DISTRACTION THAT REALLY HURT THE REPUBLICAN CAUSE’
Writer E. Jean Carroll leaves a Manhattan courthouse after a jury found former President Donald Trump responsible for sexually assaulting her at a Manhattan department store in the 1990s on May 09, 2023 in New York. The jury awarded him $5 million in damages for his assault and defamation charges. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
And the verdict may serve as potential or partial vindication for more than a dozen women who over the years have filed sexual misconduct allegations against the former president.
Trump, taking to social media after the verdict, said “THIS VERDICT IS A SHAME – A CONTINUATION OF THE GREATEST WITCH HUNT EVER!” And the former president, in an interview with Fox News Digital just after the verdict, reiterated that he had “absolutely no idea” who Carroll was and added that he would appeal the decision in the case. civil.
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The verdict came nearly six months after Trump’s third consecutive term in the White House, where public opinion polls indicate he is currently the overwhelming leader in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.
MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE – APRIL 27: Former President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally on April 27, 2023 in Manchester, New Hampshire. Trump, who is currently facing a growing number of court cases against him, is the Republican front-runner for the Republican presidential ticket. ((Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images))
As of now, when it comes to their pick for their party’s flag bearer in 2024, it seems most Republican voters have ignored the many accusations and allegations the former president has faced over the years.
But the town hall — in front of 400 Republican or GOP voters in the state that holds the first all-around primary and second in the GOP presidential nominating calendar — was the first real test of the jury’s verdict’s impact in the civil trial. Republican affair.
Most of Trump’s real or likely rivals in the 2024 nomination race declined to castigate the former president after the jury’s verdict.
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Among those who criticized Trump was Republican presidential candidate and former two-term Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson, who said in an interview with Fox News Digital on Wednesday that the verdict that Trump was responsible for sexual abuse is a “distraction that really harms the Republican cause”. .”
And Hutchinson called Trump’s actions “unbecoming of someone who wants to be president.”
Former two-term New Jersey Governor Chris Christie – who, like Hutchinson, is an outspoken Republican critic of Trump, took aim at the former president on Fox News’ “Brian Kilmeade Show.”
“His answer, to me, was ridiculous – that he didn’t even know the woman. I mean, you know, how many coincidences are we going to have here with Donald Trump,” said Christie, who is likely to launch a second GOP presidential nomination campaign.
“I mean, he must be the unluckiest SOB in the world. He just has random people he’s never met before who are able to convince a jury that he sexually abused them. I want say, this guy. It’s one person after another, one woman after another. The stories keep piling up,” Christie added.
Trump was asked about a number of other issues during town hall, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine last year.
Trump repeated his boast that “if I’m president, this war will be over in a day.”
When asked if he wanted Ukraine or Russia to win the war, the former president replied “I don’t think in terms of victory or defeat. I think in terms of settlement so that we stop to kill all these people.”
When questioned again, he once again did not answer and instead said, “I want everyone to stop dying.”
Trump also declined to say whether Russian leader Vladimir Putin is a war criminal.
On gun violence, Trump promised to protect the Second Amendment and focus on addressing the mental health crisis if elected.
With the United States potentially defaulting as early as June 1 if Congress and the White House fail to agree on a compromise to settle the debt ceiling, Trump has suggested the country should default if Biden does not agree not Republican congressional spending cuts.
“Well, you might as well do it now because you will do it later because we have to save this country. Our country is dying. Our country is being destroyed by stupid people, by very stupid people,” Trump said. .
At the start of the town hall, which was hosted by CNN, Trump repeated his unproven claims that his 2020 election loss to President Biden was due to a fraudulent election.
“Most people understand and what happened was a rigged election, it was a shame our country had to go through this,” the former president said. And he claimed the 2020 contest “was a horrible election” and stressed that “we need to have honest elections in our country”.
Trump took several shots at Biden’s town hall, and near the end of the event he also punched Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is likely to jump in the race for the GOP presidential nomination in the coming weeks.
Touting his widened lead over DeSantis in the recent Republican presidential primary election, Trump said the Florida governor “should relax and relax and think about the future. beautiful”.
Asked by an independent voter from Concord, New Hampshire, who was in the audience if he would suspend ‘polarizing’ talk of voter fraud as he runs for the White House again, Trump said ‘yes’ .
Trump was also asked about the deadly January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol by right-wing extremists and other supporters of the then-president who aimed to disrupt Congress’ certification of Biden’s election victory in 2020.
Some of those who participated in the assault on the Capitol were chanting “hang Mike Pence.” The then vice president was fulfilling his constitutional duty to oversee certification and, along with lawmakers, temporarily fled for security reasons.
Former Vice President Mike Pence speaks with social-conservative voters at an Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition rally, April 22, 2023, in Clive, Iowa. (Fox News)
When asked if he owed his former running mate an apology, Trump replied, “No, because he did something wrong…he made a mistake.”
And Trump reiterated his assertion that Pence had the constitutional authority to send election results back to the states, saying “Mike had the right to do so.”
More than 300 protesters have been charged to date with assaulting, resisting or embarrassing officers or employees during the attack on the Capitol.
Asked if he would pardon – if re-elected to the White House – some of the Jan. 6 defendants convicted of crimes, Trump said: “I am inclined to pardon a lot of them…I would say that would be a big part of them.”
Looking ahead to next year’s election, Trump was asked if he would accept the 2024 results if he was the GOP nominee, Trump twice said “if I think it’s a fair election , I will be honored”.
The trip was Trump’s second trip in two weeks and third overall this year to the crucial state in the early-vote presidential primary.
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Before the town hall, the New Hampshire Democratic Party took aim at the former president.
“Donald Trump will tell desperate lies about his record at tonight’s town hall, as he does every time he parachutes into our state, but Granite Staters remember how disastrous his presidency was for New Hampshire , charged the state’s longtime party chairman Ray Buckley in a statement, “New Hampshire has already rejected Trump’s dangerous agenda twice – and we will happily do so.”
