Donald Trump returned to a Manhattan federal courthouse on Thursday where he took the stand for what was ultimately less than five minutes — including multiple admonishments from Judge Lewis Kaplan — as he seeks to avoid a multimillion-dollar jury verdict against him in the civil defamation trial.
The trial centers on Trump’s 2019 comments about E. Jean Carroll, the writer who last year won a civil verdict over her claim Trump sexually assaulted her in the mid-1990s and then defamed her when she first publicly accused him. Carroll is seeking at least $10 million.
Closing arguments are scheduled for Friday morning and the jury of nine could have the case by lunchtime.
Here’s what to know from Thursday:
- Trump testifies: After days of back-and-forth teases over whether he would appear, Trump was on the witness stand for mere minutes Thursday. The defense’s questions were effectively pre-cleared by the judge, as Trump was not allowed to re-litigate the verdict from last year. He stood by his previous denial of Carroll's sexual assault accusation and said that he wanted to defend himself, his family and the presidency.
- Trump plays the victim: Perhaps more interesting than anything he said in court — before or during his testimony — was Trump’s decision to show up in the first place. He was not bound by the court to speak at or attend the trial, at which cameras are not allowed, but did so repeatedly. His appearance on Thursday amounted to another opportunity, in Trump’s estimation, to advance the narrative that he is the victim of a broad conspiracy designed to block his return to office and damage his personal and business reputation.
- Team Trump attacks Carroll: Trump attorney Alina Habba sought to undermine Carroll’s claims that her safety was at risk as a result of the former president’s disparaging statements about her. While questioning Carroll’s longtime friend Carol Martin, a former television reporter, Habba pointed to texts in which Carroll wrote to Martin that she had no security concerns at the time. The text messages are key to the defense’s strategy of trying to show that Carroll has exaggerated her claims.
- Carroll's lawyers play the tapes: Carroll’s attorneys played videos for the jury in which Trump attested to his personal wealth and another where the former president disparaged Carroll and denied knowing the writer. Carroll’s lawyers also played clips from earlier depositions and media statements by Trump in which he disparages Carroll as “sick,” threatens to sue her attorney, and rants about the “hoaxes” that have been played on him.
Catch up on all of the key takeaways from the trial on Thursday ahead of closing arguments.
