A woman who accused President Donald Trump of sexually assaulting her told CNN that “most people think of rape as being sexy,” adding to a series of bizarre statements in television interviews that undermine her credibility.
Columnist E. Jean Carroll, 75, who is promoting her new book, made the allegation against Trump in a cover story in New York magazine on June 24. She claims the incident occurred in a posh New York City retail store in the mid-1990s.
“You don’t feel like a victim?” Cooper asked.
“I was not thrown on the ground and ravished. The word ‘rape’ carries so many sexual connotations. This was not sexual. It just ... it hurt, you know?” Carroll replied.
“I think most people think of rape as a violent assault,” Cooper said.
“I think most people think of rape as being sexy,” Carroll said.
“Let’s take a short break,” Cooper said, in an attempt to cut away from the segment.
“Think of the fantasies,” Carroll said before the feed cut out.
“We’re gonna take a quick break,” Cooper said, stuttering. “If you can stick around, we'll talk more on the other side.”
“You’re fascinating to talk to,” Carroll said, prompting a stifled laugh from Cooper before the TV feed switched.
Two anonymous sources told New Yorker that Carroll told them about the assault after it took place. Besides the two anonymous accounts, she offered no other evidence for the claim, except for a dress she claims to have kept since the alleged incident.
Trump denied the allegation and accused Carroll of using the allegation to peddle her book.
“Regarding the ‘story’ by E. Jean Carroll, claiming she once encountered me at Bergdorf Goodman 23 years ago. I’ve never met this person in my life. She is trying to sell a new book—that should indicate her motivation. It should be sold in the fiction section,” Trump said in a statement.
“Shame on those who make up false stories of assault to try to get publicity for themselves, or sell a book, or carry out a political agenda—like Julie Swetnick, who falsely accused Justice Brett Kavanaugh,” Trump added. “It’s just as bad for people to believe it, particularly when there is zero evidence. Worse still for a dying publication to try to prop itself up by peddling fake news—it’s an epidemic.”
In an earlier interview, Carroll told MSNBC that she isn’t planning to press charges because it would be “disrespectful to the women who are down on the border who are being raped around the clock.”
“I would find it disrespectful to the women who are down on the border who are being raped around the clock down there without any protection. They’re young women,” Carroll told MSNBC.
“It would just be disrespectful and mine was three minutes. I’m a mature woman. I could handle it and keep going. My life has gone on. I’m a happy woman,” she added.
“But for the women down there and for the women ... actually, around the world, you know in every culture, this is going on no matter high in society or low in society. It just seems disrespectful that I would bring—it just doesn’t make sense to me.”
