“I’d like to give the money to something Donald Trump hates. Perhaps a fund for the women who have been sexually assaulted by Donald Trump,” the writer says.
Writer E. Jean Carroll spoke publicly Monday for the first time since a federal jury ordered Donald Trump to pay her $83 million in damages on Friday in her defamation trial against the former president.
“Who can conceive of $83? Million? I am a mere human,” Carroll told CBS Mornings.
Last May, Trump was found liable of sexually abusing and defaming the writer after she accused him of sexually assaulting her at Bergdorf Goodman in the late 90s. After the verdict, the former president continued denying her claims and mocked her.
The writer says she is going to use a large portion of the money to set up a fund for other women who claim they were sexually assaulted by Trump, something he denies.
“I’d like to give the money to something Donald Trump hates,” Carroll told "Good Morning America."
Trump plans to appeal the decision. He can either pay the money to the court, which will hold the money while the appeal is pending, or try to get an appeal bond so he does not immediately have to pay the full amount upfront, according to The New York Times.
Carroll and her attorney, Roberta Kaplan, say they believe Trump’s behavior, including walking out during closing arguments, influenced the jury’s $83 million decision. They say the jury tried to send a message to the former president.
“I think they were saying, ‘Enough,’” Carroll said.
Trump did not mention Carroll at this campaign rallies or on social media over the weekend, but Nikki Haley did.
“I absolutely trust the jury, and I think that they made their decision based on the evidence,” Haley told Meet the Press.
