The former president fired off a series of potentially defamatory statements as he arrived in court

As he arrived at a federal courthouse in lower Manhattan, Donald Trump’s Truth Social account released an avalanche of posts attacking E Jean Carroll, who is suing the former president for defamation.

A jury in New York City will determine what damages he owes Ms Carroll, whom Mr Trump defamed by repeatedly calling her a liar and denying that he sexually assaulted her.

It’s the second trial stemming from defamation claims brought by Ms Caroll, and a jury already found him civilly responsible for sexually abusing her in the 1990s. He continues to claim that he never met her and has repeatedly mocked and ridiculed Ms Carroll in the wake of that verdict.

  • octopus_ink@lemmy.ml
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    11 months ago

    And a huge chunk of the country somehow goes, “Yep, just what I’m looking for in November.”

    • Daft_ish@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      A huge chunk of the country just down plays everything.

      “OH, if it’s really so bad why haven’t I heard about it.” I just told you mf’r.

      “Trump is the victim in all this.” Get fucked. In no way has that silver spoon orange cum rag ever been a victim in his life. We are talking about the person that is suppose to represent and lead umpteen million Americans and you’re treating him with kid gloves.

      “Innocent until proven guilty.” He was proven guilty.

      “It’s only civil court, it’s not criminal.” Hold still while I shove this goalpost up your ass.

      • kent_eh@lemmy.ca
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        11 months ago

        A survey done at the Iowa caucus asked “if Trump is convicted, would you still vote for him?”. Only about a quarter of Republicans asked said no…

        • saintshenanigans@programming.dev
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          11 months ago

          1/4 of republicans splitting the vote pretty much means a free win for dems though. Don’t let the irony of this election compared to the 2016 Bernie situation slide past you lol

            • Cosmonauticus@lemmy.world
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              11 months ago

              And a portion of that 1/4 could be lieing or can change their minds. Republicans only vote for the R next to the name.

          • grue@lemmy.world
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            11 months ago

            But that’s beside the point. It is a fucking problem that 3/4 of Republicans have abandoned the rule of law!

        • Daft_ish@lemmy.world
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          They can deny it all they want but Trump lead an insurrection on the capitol and people still support him. Should we really be surprised though? There is a reason dictators come to power. If Trump wins you really have to start asking was our government really equipped to deal with the information age?

          My answer is no and even as a kid I thought it was stupid we were so reliant on a piece of paper drafted 200+ years ago. Before automobiles. Before radio. Before the internet. When slave labor was still a thing.

          Like it or not, America, it is your hubris that got us into this situation and your hubris that will doom the way of life so many have become accustomed to, even with all of its shortcomings.

  • Ranvier@sopuli.xyz
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    11 months ago

    So during a trial to decide damage amounts for previously made defamatory statements, you launch into a bunch of new defamatory statements?

    Bold move cotton, we’ll see how it plays out.

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      11 months ago

      She can do this all decade long you stupid orange rapist. 5 Million. 20 Million. 100 Million. 300 Million. Keep it coming you idiot fuck.

    • dhork@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      He is banking on the publicity that making the additional defamatory statements will give him with his voting base. He is hoping that his re-election will at the very least stall all the proceedings against him, and he may even be able to quash some of them after re-election.

      The more forceful he is at his defense, the more his supporters dig in. He doesn’t care about defying the court, because he hopes to make the court irrelevant.

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        11 months ago

        The more forceful he is at his defense, the more his supporters dig in. He doesn’t care about defying the court, because he hopes to make the court irrelevant.

        Unfortunately the more I read from the right the more disturbing it is. I find they want blood and punishment for all the things they find wrong and they don’t want to have to deal with anything complicated again.

        The most convenient lies will do and there is no use for courts as they are not extreme enough. Faces must be eaten. Sadly it will be some of theirs too.

  • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    Imagine if some country tries to stare us down while this guy is president.

    We’ll be a radioactive hole.

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    11 months ago

    “You owe damages of $3M, Mr. Trump.”

    “Well, she’s a nasty person.”

    “You now owe $3.2M.”

    “And a liar.”

    “$3.5M.”

    “She’s not even…”

    “$4M.”

    “This is horse…”

    “$4.2M.”

    “But I…”

    “$4.8M.”

    “You’re a nasty person, too.”

    “$5M, Mr. Trump, plus you’re now in contempt of court. I can do this all day.”

  • Leraje@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    11 months ago

    He’s campaigning. A large part of the country love this sort of behaviour and if it costs him a few mill well then donations will take care of that.

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      11 months ago

      Honestly it should cost him a fucking contempt charge and some time in jail

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    11 months ago

    Defaming someone just as you’re arriving at a trial to determine how much extra you’re going to owe for defaming them again after already being fined for defaming them would be SUCH a badass move if it wasn’t so stupid and coming from someone so vile…

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    11 months ago

    When I read these things I am tempted to believe more and more that all hope in humanity is lost. I can’t believe that our so-called allies in America are not able to recognize injustice and treat it the same way. Your society is finished - there is no other way to put it.

      • DandomRude@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        In my opinion, moral decisions have nothing to do with IQ. I think that everyone is capable of making these conscience decisions. The question is rather whether if people are still able to decide things for themselves, given all the preconceived opinions that social media et al. dictates. This is not difficult in itself: you just have to decide what is right and what is wrong.

        • nature_man@lemmy.world
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          11 months ago

          IQ is also a greatly flawed measure of intelligence, I score higher than people I know are much much smarter than me.

          I also score higher when I take ADHD medicine, does it make me smarter? Fuck no, its just easier to test.

    • Stanwich@lemmy.world
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      I honestly don’t think it’s possible for them to change. Their democracy is done. They are now a warning symbol to the world. I know I’ll start looking into my own countries politics . I’ve been addicted to the shit show coming from the states. I do always wonder how more extreme it is in the news then what the average American sees.

      • TurtleJoe@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        If he wins, we’re done. No doubt about it. However, if we hold back the fascists this election (this includes the House and Senate,) there is a real chance at landing a huge defeat to maga extremism in '26 and '28.

        Yes, you should be paying attention to your local politics: right wing extremism is on the rise everywhere.

      • DandomRude@lemmy.world
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        That’s right. The USA are a good example of the downfall of a democracy. Even the most powerful in the world; and all that for no good reason - maybe pure greed or hybris or whatever; i can’t make any sence of this. We can only learn from it. In any case, I am not prepared to accept this complete loss of any moral compass. A democracy should stand for all people. Not just for a few privileged ones.

        • swarmingnarwhal@lemmy.world
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          11 months ago

          I truly hope the American Dad time line is correct. That Mexico and Canada will join forces to demolish America

          • azimir@lemmy.ml
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            11 months ago

            Will they bring universal healthcare, cheap/free college, tacos and poutine with them?

    • hansl@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      Empires have had an average lifespan of around 250 years. Outside of Rome which a case could be made that changes in its structure enabled it to last way longer.

      Let’s just hope the fall of the American Empire doesn’t bring the whole world with it.

  • noneya@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    He’s shooting people in the middle of Fifth Avenue. Judge: What are you going to do about it?

  • carbonprop@lemmy.ca
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    11 months ago

    It would be amazing if the jury said jail time would be more effective than another monetary settlement. Fingers crossed.

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        11 months ago

        Just treat him like he was black. Charge him with contempt for anything, the way he is breathing is too loud, and set the bail for more than he can afford. $1.5 trillion?

      • Nougat@kbin.social
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        11 months ago

        They don’t have that ability in a civil trial, but could they say that? Something like “Here’s the incredibly large amount of compensatory and punitive damages, which we still do not believe will suffice to prevent Trump from repeating this behavior. We believe that only detention will be successful in putting an end to this continuing defamation.”

          • Ook the Librarian@lemmy.world
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            11 months ago

            Now I’m picturing an SNL-type sketch where the judge is the “this isn’t how any of this works” geico lady, and the jury insists that jail is best.

            Of course Trump’s lawyers would try to help, but make it worse. And the plaintiff’s lawyers are just eating popcorn.

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        I would imagine it would have been much harder for his Loser routine if there was still a debtor’s prison. It wouldn’t be a standard way for him to do business.

        With how many things he’s failed at and in a big way involving investors, customers, regulators, and the courts, it’s been amazing how he’s been able to get his hooks into the country. Celebrity truly is king in America.

        • prole@sh.itjust.works
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          11 months ago

          All it took was repeating bald faced lies about his business acumen on TV for a handful of years. Before apprentice, he was universally seen as the piece of shit that he is. So much so that he’s basically the archetype of almost every movie villain from the 80s and 90s.

    • Skyrmir@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      Just start calling in the new jury on the campaign finance violations he’s about to commit the second he has to pay the settlement. Those carry actual jail time.

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      Money is the only thing he cares about. Keep the fines going up. We can call it the Trumping Point: the amount of money required to make a billionaire understand consequences. Then future fines to other billionaires can just start there.

      For real though, imagine the orange apoplexy if he lost all his wealth.

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        Honestly, this is the entire point of fines though. We need a system where fines are determined by your tax bracket or something, it shouldn’t be “ahh I can do whatever I want until the fines get close to $X million” it should be an immediate “oh i fucked up”

        Otherwise, fines are just the cost of doing business.

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    11 months ago

    He lost another 2 lawyers. Is there a number out there, how many lawyers he had that were withdrawing? Many withdrawing only days/ a day before a trial, which a lawyer only ever does if they are deadly ill or their client is so unhinged that they can not risk being with them in a court room.

    • lagomorphlecture@lemm.ee
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      At this point i don’t understand how he gets lawyers in the first place. Ok so maybe a few of them are crazy republicans, makes sense, but he has a wellnearned reputation for not paying his attorneys and I would think that would be enough to keep them from signing up in the first place.

      • butterflyattack@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        There’s always going to be some who think they’ll be able to cash in by saying they worked for the former president. They’re probably right too. And some are just trumpsuckers.

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    11 months ago

    What is with all the leniency the courts are giving him? It feels like every month its “Judge orders Trump to stop doing thing he was ordered to stop doing several times already”, if I acted that way in any trial I guarantee I would be charged for contempt of court

    • designatedhacker@lemm.ee
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      They’re trying to provoke the judge so they can have room for appeal or at least fodder for his mentally stunted base. “This judge was so mean to me, I couldn’t get a fair trial.” Especially if they can make the judge snap at them, then that’s what it’s about: an unhinged, emotional, hothead judge abusing their power.

      Luckily I think most of the judges smelled him coming and are just giving him all the rope he wants. That’s my hope at least. Then if they do jail him for contempt they’ve got stacks of evidence and second chances. I may be giving them too much credit.

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      Class solidarity is drilled into rich white kids from the moment they’re born. He might be orange and dumb as dogshit but he remains a member of the rich white guy club.

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    He really doesn’t know when to shut up, hopefully that will be his undoing.

    • CatsGoMOW@lemmy.world
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      Unfortunately that doesn’t seem to have been the case his entire life so far.

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        In large part - perhaps exclusively - because corporate news is utterly incapable of saying the basic truth. He’s a demented rapist fraud who can not stop lying.

        They can’t say that! They can’t get close to saying that! And that is what gives him his rabid base.

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      He really doesn’t know when to shut up, hopefully that will be his undoing.

      Yes, Donkey, you do have the right to remain silent.

      What you lack is the capability…

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        These were civil rather than criminal charges, so he was liable rather than guilty, so he isn’t technically a convict.

        You can just call him sex offender treason Trump, both are still 100% true, I just want to make sure that when you’re letting people know that Trump is a rapist and a traitor, they don’t have the opportunity to say “well ackshually…”

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          11 months ago

          Since Convicted Sex Offender Treason Trump himself would never make that distinction, we do not have to make that distinction while talking about Treason Trump.