Donald Trump coming out on the losing end of a verdict by a jury of New Yorkers is almost as certain as a Democrat playing the race card, and that’s just what happened Tuesday afternoon when a federal jury found the former president liable for battery and defamation in a civil trial brought by the writer E. Jean Carroll.
Carroll claimed Trump raped her some 30 years ago in a NYC department store dressing room, and while the jury said he was not liable for rape Trump was ordered to pay his accuser $5 million total in damages.
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) wasted no time pouncing on the outcome of the civil matter to declare what he already believed, which is that Trump should not be the 2024 Republican presidential nominee.
“I hope the American people, the jury of the American people, reach the same conclusion as the jury of his peers, which is that Donald Trump should not be our nominee and he certainly shouldn’t be president of the United States,” Romney said, according to The Hill. “We have other people who are highly qualified that could lead our party to victory, and someone who’s been found to have committed sexual assault should not be the face of the Republican Party.”
“I think that there will be some people, surely, who say, ‘You know, I don’t think it’s a good idea to have someone who’s been convicted of sexual assault to be the face for my children and my grandchildren and the world,’” the liberal Republican added.
Trump responded to the verdict on Truth Social: “I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHO THIS WOMAN IS. THIS VERDICT IS A DISGRACE – A CONTINUATION OF THE GREATEST WITCH HUNT OF ALL TIME!”
With Trump’s legal team saying they plan to appeal the ruling, Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) suggested the case is far from over and that people should not jump to conclusions just yet.
“We have the verdict and he’s going to appeal. I’m sure [there’s] more to follow,” Ernst said, as noted by The Hill. “We’ll see what the appeals process brings.”
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who voted to convict Trump in his impeachment over the Jan. 6 riot, said the jury’s finding “creates a concern,” but added that it’s ultimately up to the voters to decide.
“If she were your sister, what would you think?” Cassidy said. “It kind of speaks for itself. You feel for Miss. Carroll, a woman should not be assaulted, period, end of story, period.”
Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) said it’s “clearly up to the voters. They’ll figure out what’s important to them.” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who believes Trump will be the party’s nominee, said voters in the general will have to put the conviction up against the “continuing pileup of scandals from the Biden White House.”
Former Vice President Mike Pence avoided any dramatics over Trump being found liable by a jury for battery and defamation, other than to suggest that it’s a distraction from the important issues.
“I think that’s a question for the American people but I really can’t comment on a judgement in a civil case,” he said during an interview with NBC News.
“I have no knowledge of those matters and I’m sure the president will defend himself in that matter,” Pence observed. “But it strikes me it’s just one more instance where at a time when American families are struggling, when our economy is hurting, when the world seems to become a more dangerous place almost every day, that it’s just one more story focusing on my former running mate that I know is a great fascination to members of the national media, but I just don’t think it’s where the American people are focused.”
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Tom Tillison grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills. Tillison also contributes to BizPac Review.
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