I firmly believe E. Jean Carroll was sexually assaulted 2 and 1/2 decades ago. Trump claims he never met her, and even if he did (he did; there's a photo), she wasn't his type. His type seems to have been blonde,pretty, and fashionably thin, as a brief glance at photos of his other accusers shows; at the time, Carroll fit his generic type to a T. Oh, and there's no video so no evidence that it ever happened. He must certainly know that stores don't keep security tapes for over 20 years. The point of cameras is to.prevent shoplifting, not catch unsavory trysts in dressing rooms. No witnesses? Rapists seldom rape in front of witnesses, unless the perpetrators are young and stupid and post video like the Steubenville duo.
His "proof" that it never happened doesn't withstand even the mildest scrutiny.
The one big question is "Why."
I have a possible answer.
In 1996, according to Wikipedia, a police officer caught Trump's then-wife Marla Maples under the bleachers at 4 a.m. with Trump's bodyguard. The bodyguard was immediately fired, and the Trumps denied there was any hankypanky. The bodyguard's story conflicted with theirs. It made the news. The story didn't depict Trump in a flattering light but as an older man with a young beautiful wife who cuckolded him with a servant
Trump is not the sort of man who handles slights, criticism, or rejection very well. He lashes out at those who fail to flatter him, let alone those who disagree with him. Look at his behavior towards John McCain. I am not a McCain fan for many reasons, but he was certainly a far better man and far more admired than the current resident of the White House, and that was the "crime" that causes Trump to continue to rail against him even though the man died months ago. Petty men with big egos cannot stand being outshone, let alone embarrassed.
Marla Maples being caught in a compromising situation had to have been hugely embarrassing. Trump saw and still sees himself as rich, powerful, charming, virile and handsome.* He had to have been seething, raging behind the facade of unconcern. He had to have known people were speculating about who was telling the truth, the Trumps or the bodyguard. The blow to his reputation as a promiscuous slutpuppy-- er, successful stud who could have any woman he wanted had to have been humiliating, and we know Trump doesn't handle humiliation well. He would have had to strike back.
In May, 1997, he and Marla separated and eventually divorced.
Even before the separation, Trump returned to his fratrat ways, pursuing beautiful women, as if to prove to the world he still had that old Trump studliness. To men likehim, adultery is the norm, not the exception-- their adultery, that is. Boys will be boys. Wives on the other hand, are supposed to be faithful and know their role, smiling up at him adoringly. Men dump women, not the other way around.
It is around this time that E. Jean Carroll had her run-in with Trump at Bergdorf Goodman's. Still seething, he needed to prove to the world-- and more importantly to himself -- that he still had the old playboy charisma, he cornered her in a dressing room and made his move. Instead of being flattered or honored by his lust-- after all, he only wants the best -- she fought back. And that would have made him even angrier.
I have to wonder how many others became the recipient of that rage and wounded ego. Certainly, a number of the accusers described unwanted advances during that time period. He was so.busy groping and kissing women between 1996and 1998, one could wonder how he had time to run his businesses.
Kristin Anderson described him as having touched her vagina at a night club around then-- his "grab 'em by the pussy" move. Jill Harth said he forced her up against a wall while her husband was in the next room.Lisa Boyne said that during a business dinner in 1996, he and John Casablancas had aspiring models walk on a table while they made lewd comments about the women's underwear and genitalia. Two contestants in the Miss Teen U.S.A. said he walked in on them in the dressing room while they were in the process of changing clothing. Trump admitted he did this habitually. Cathy Heller was forcibly kissed while a guest at Mar-a-Lago. Karena Virginia claimed he grabbed her breast while she waited for her car at the 1998 U.S. Open. Temple Taggart said he kissed her without consent at the Miss U.S A. pageant in 1997.
That is 8 women, in case you were wondering whom he kissed , groped, or raped in the 2 years between the incident between Marla and the bodyguard and their divorce. Most of the women were blonde, strikingly pretty, and thin. Just like Marla. Thete appears to be a pattern of behavior here. Could he have been assuaging his ego and taking out his rage by sexually assaulting women who resembled his soon-to-be ex- wife?
EIGHT women. And those are just the ones who have spoken out, the ones we know about.
No, I cannot prove this. It might not stand up in a court of law, and a judge would likely call it speculation and tell the jury to disregard it. Still, a smart prosecutor would have asked the question. He might have started with asking Trump if he were angry when Marla was caught on the beach and planted the seed for motive. What has been heard cannot be unheard.
No, I cannot prove this assault of Carroll was Trump's way of striking back at a woman who humiliated him. Of repairing his pride. But lookbat what we do know about him. He cannot handle criticism or embarrassment. He hits back when he feels someone has taken advantage of him. He appears to feel he has a right to touch women without their consent. And he may have been violent with Ivana, his first wife, as she said in the divorce filings. She later said she used the term rape to describe her feelings of violation at his treatment of her in 1993, but it wasn't actually "real rape". Of course, she had to sign one of those ubiquitous nondisclosure agreements as part of the settlement. As did Marla.
One thing that is very clear, however, and that is that a man like Trump, a serial adulterer, a man who treats women like chattel, should not be in the White House.
*I realize very few of us find Trump attractive, mostly because he is a vile excuse for a human being and because his current appearance matches his personality. Back then, though, if we look at photos from the Nineties, he was in his 40s, still had most of his hair, wasn't yet obese, and reasonably good looking.