Republicans are divided over whether Tuesday’s decision in the case of author E. Jean Carroll could hurt former President Donald Trump’s chances for reelection in 2024.
On Tuesday (May 9), a federal jury in Manhattan found Trump liable for the sexual assault and defamation of Carroll and awarded the author $5 million in damages.
The decision stems from a lawsuit filed last year, in which Carroll accused the former President of raping her in the dressing room of a Bergdorf Goodman in 1996, although a jury found Trump not liable for rape at trial.
Some Republicans saw the conviction as a reason to move on from the former President.
Doug Heye, a Republican strategist, tweeted that Trump’s statement should provide the GOP with enough ammunition to “dump Trump once and for all.”
Alyssa Farah Griffin, who served as Trump’s White House communications director and now frequently criticizes the former President, tweeted that the GOP “must walk away from this man,” describing his actions as “beyond morally indefensible.”
The decision comes days before the former President is scheduled to answer questions at a CNN town hall — the first time Trump has been interviewed by a major non-conservative network since 2020 — and weeks after Manhattan District Alvin Attorney Alving Bragg (D) filed federal charges against Trump.
Strategists also believe the verdict could harm Trump, with one GOP strategist suggesting it won’t help him win back the “suburban women” who voted for him in 2016.
However, Arizona GOP strategist and Trump campaign alumnus Brian Seitchik highlighted how Trump could frame Bragg’s indictment as political and queried whether he could do the same with Tuesday’s verdict.
