“My last rich boy pulled down my tights… My last rich boy was blond. He grew up to be the president of the United States.”
On Friday afternoon, E. Jean Carroll became the 22nd woman to accuse US President Donald Trump of sexual misconduct.
In an excerpt for her forthcoming book, What Do We Need Men For?, published in New York Magazine, the advice columnist describes an encounter with Trump in the New York City department store Bergdorf Goodman in late 1995 or early 1996.
Read “Donald Trump, My Attacker, and Other Hideous Men,” an excerpt from E. Jean Carroll’s “What Do We Need Men For? A Modest Proposal” https://t.co/AfmgdwTfoL pic.twitter.com/SwBgM8Ui0g
— The Cut (@TheCut) June 21, 2019
Top Comments
I believe her, 100%. Trump has always been dodgy and awful.
See I have an issue with "I believe her". This lady may very well believe what she is saying. But that doesn't therefore mean that is actually what happened.
Also, just because you think someone "has always been dodgy and awful" doesn't automatically mean you believe anyone who accuses them of rape.
I couldn't care less if you have an issue with "I believe her". I believe that what she says happened to her, happened to her. Trump is an odious, rude man who had too many of these sorts of stories following him around. It's not a real stretch for me to believe her. Also, women know when a man tries to force his penis inside of her, I don't know how you could get that wrong about your own experience. You are basically accusing her of lying.
Trump is not perfect but we are still better off with him than any of the democrats.
This article has nothing to do with what kind of president he is, it's about sexual assault!
The "presumption of innocence" is still a thing, no matter how much you hate someone.
Anyone can accuse anyone else of anything, that doesn't mean it's true.
Remember the Brett Kavanaugh debacle.
In addition, sexual assault cases are unique because even if a man is found to be completely innocent, there is still a public taint on their reputation.
(For this reason, I believe such allegations should not be made public unless there is an actual criminal conviction.)
This lady has every right to tell her story, presumption of innocence or not. Do you really think she'd get any kind of fair treatment if she took this to the authorities, then or now?
I think at least any claim should be accompanied with an offer of proof and for credibility sake, an explainer as to why the accuser waited years or decades to now come forward, perhaps even noting the names of anyone they told in the intervening period.
Just throwing out a claim years or decades later with no proof isn’t fair or just. It denies the accused the chance to gather rebuttal evidence because it was so long ago. If you were falsely accused of doing something last week you have a much better chance of establishing your alibi and locating witnesses than if it was 20 years ago. That’s why many crimes have a statute or limitations.