By Wonderwall.com Editors
7:00pm PST, Jan 29, 2024
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On Friday, Jan. 26, a New York City jury ordered Donald Trump to pay writer E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million for defaming her after she accused him in 2019 of having raped her decades earlier. The lion's share of that sum, $65 million in punitive damages, stems from the jury's decision Trump acted with malice when he repeatedly attacked Carroll and denied her rape allegations, even after he was found liable last year of having of sexually abused her in the 1996 incident.
The jury also ordered Trump to pay $7.3 million in emotional damages and $11 million to offset the cost of repairing her reputation.
As closing arguments began on Friday, Trump "stormed out" of the courtroom, according to NBC News. Shortly after the verdict was read, the Republican presidential hopeful began posting about the verdict on social media. He wasn't alone: Within an hour, trends on X (formerly Twitter), were filled with hashtags related to the trial and the $83.3 million verdict.
Keep reading to see what Trump, Nikki Haley and other stars are saying …
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Donald Trump, seen here leaving Trump Tower in New York City on Jan. 26, quickly took to his Truth Social platform after the verdict was read.
"Absolutely ridiculous! I fully disagree with both verdicts, and will be appealing this whole Biden Directed Witch Hunt focused on me and the Republican Party. Our Legal System is out of control, and being used as a Political Weapon. They have taken away all First Amendment Rights. THIS IS NOT AMERICA!" –Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social
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"The jury in his defamation case has ordered Donald Trump to pay writer E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million. And Trump is a billionaire — so obviously he immediately hit up your grandma for five bucks," "Weekend Update" anchor Colin Jost joked on "Saturday Night Live" on Jan. 27. "They ordered Trump to pay $83 million. That's how unlikable he is. For perspective, O.J. Simpson only had to pay $33 million for a double murder."
"This trial must have driven Trump crazy," he added. "The judge kept telling him to shut up. The jury made him pay triple what the victim asked for. Even the courtroom sketch artist made him look like that lady who got her face ripped off by a monkey. The only way this could have gone worse for Trump is if they took away his businesses — which is, of course, is what happens in next week's trial."
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Days after the verdict came in, E. Jean Carroll appeared alongside her attorney on "Good Morning America."
Asked by anchor George Stephanopoulos what she planned to do with the millions owed to her, she said, "I do have an idea — I'd like to give the money to something Donald Trump hates, if it will cause him pain for me to give money to certain things — that's my intent. Perhaps a fund for the women who've been sexuallya assaulted by Donald Trump."
She also shared how she felt seeing him in court, saying the thought was "terrifying" — until she got there. Then, Carroll explained, "It was like he was like nothing, like an emperor without clothes. All my terror leading up to it, and… he's just something in a suit."
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"The wild thing: Republicans have an off ramp to nominate a conservative former 2-term Governor and UN Ambassador who is wildly popular with independents needed to win a General. But they'll stick by this guy" –"The View" co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin
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"Guess we'll soon find out if he really is a billionaire…" –Dan Rather on X
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"MAJOR BREAKING!!! The jury has found Donald liable for MORE damages in E. Jean Carroll's second defamation trial against Donald: $7.3 million in compensatory damages $11 million to repair her reputation $65 million in punitive damages. The jury barely deliberated for three hours." –Mary Trump on X
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"Eighty Three Million, Three Hundred Thousand Dollars." –Mark Hamill on X
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"Jury:, says Trump the rapist, treasonous, lying creep must pay E. jean Carroll $83.3 million … Hallelujah" –Mia Farrow in two posts on X
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"The jury spoke loudly. Donald Trump is being held accountable for raping then defaming the woman he raped. Now it's time for American voters to speak even louder. To hold him accountable for leading a violent Insurrection to overthrow the Government." –Rob Reiner on X
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"$83,300,000.00 is how much @realDonaldTrump has been ordered to pay @ejeancarroll. That's a lot of zeroes! Too much? Not enough? Right amount?" –Don Lemon on X
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"Trump ordered to pay $83.3 million, and what is Fox News talking about? Taylor Swift, of course." –Stephen King on X
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"At this rate trump's pockets will be as empty as his head. $83.3 million to the bravest woman I know." –Ellen Barkin on X
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"A jury is there to determine how much he will have to pay," Jimmy Kimmel said on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" on Jan. 25. "And we know he doesn't like to pay, so he showed up to speak on his own behalf. And everything went smoothly until the judge asked him to tell the truth, the whole truth, and everybody busted out laughing."
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"Donald Trump is out there trying to win over the voters that matter most: his juries," joked Stephen Colbert on "The Late Show" on Jan. 25.
Stephen then brought up the former president's brief defamation trial testimony, in which he failed to comply with the judge's order to answer questions simply with "yes" or "no."
"Which is fitting," Stephen said, "because the whole trial is the result of Trump disregarding everything after 'no.'"
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"Tonight Show" host Jimmy Fallon also referenced Donald Trump's brief defamation trial testimony on his Jan. 25 show: "He only lasted about three minutes" Jimmy said. "Then Stormy Daniels was, like, 'Wow, a minute longer than I expected.'"
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"Corrupt as Hell!" –Kari Lake, who's running for Senate, wrote on X before sharing a link to a lengthier statement
