E. Jean Carroll, one of Donald Trump’s many victims, issues a brief but haunting message after his re-election as president.
Trump has dozens of sexual assault allegations to his name and was recently alleged to be close friends with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during his first presidency. The assault allegations didn’t make a difference in Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. However, when he ran for re-election this year, he had a proven sexual abuse allegation to his name. After accusing him of sexual assault in her book What Do We Need Men For, Carroll sued Trump for defamation and battery in 2019. In 2023, the jury ruled in her favor, finding Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation. A judge also later clarified that Trump was, indeed, found guilty of rape during the trial. Hence, during the 2024 election, there was no denying that the Republican party’s candidate was a convicted felon and rapist.
Unfortunately, Trump’s conviction and legal struggles didn’t make a difference in the election. On November 5, America confirmed it prefers a convicted felon to a qualified, experienced female leader.
E. Jean Carroll responds to Trump’s re-election
Following the election results, Carroll issued a short but devastating response. On X, she wrote, “I tried to tell you.”
Carroll is one of the women who did, indeed, try the most to tell America who Trump is. She bravely came forward with her story despite knowing she would face retaliation from Trump, his administration, and his supporters. As a result, she faced defamation from Trump and endured having her reputation and character smeared while falsely being called a liar. Carroll then filed her defamation and battery lawsuits, enduring a years-long legal battle where she was forced to relive her experiences while facing mocking and ridicule from those who hate abuse survivors. She did what many thought was impossible and proved that Trump was not above the law and that his victims could have justice.
Yet, despite doing all of that, America chose to re-elect Trump to office. America decided to let Carroll and all of Trump’s victims have to watch their abuser be re-elected as president because, in their minds, that’s preferable to having a woman run the country. Carroll isn’t the only one who tried to tell us. Countless women have come forward, choosing to tell their very personal stories and face attacks and mocking from MAGA in hopes of informing America. They did their best, and all they can say to America now is, “I tried to tell you.”
The words are especially haunting given what began happening in less than 24 hours after the results. Men began chanting, “Your body, my choice,” and “We own your bodies now.” At a university in Texas, men waved around signs that read, “Women are property.” Right-wing extremist Nick Fuentes made an unhinged video manically laughing about how men now “control” women’s bodies and will do so forever. It’s exactly what every American who believed Trump’s victims anticipated would happen. Numerous men are making it clear they didn’t vote for Trump in spite of the fact that he’s a sexual abuser; they voted for him because of it. They feel emboldened and powerful having a sexual abuser in office and can barely contain their glee that they might be able to further normalize violence against women. Trump’s victims tried to tell us, but America didn’t listen.
