Letter to the editor: Trump seeks immunity from sexual abuse

First published in the Brunswick Beacon, 11.27.25

Trump has used every dodge he could think of to escape accountability for sexually abusing E. Jean Carroll. He might soon run out of dodges. On Sept. 8, an appeals court upheld the jury decision ordering Trump to pay Carroll $83 million for calling her a liar when she said he raped her.

In June, the same appeals court upheld the jury’s underlying finding that Trump sexually assaulted Carroll. When Trump denied raping Carroll, trial judge Kaplan rejected Trump’s claim “that she failed to prove that Mr. Trump ‘raped’ her as many people commonly understand the word ‘rape.’ Indeed, as the evidence at trial recounted below makes clear, the jury found that Mr. Trump in fact did exactly that.” Kaplan explained, “the proof convincingly established, and the jury implicitly found, that Mr. Trump deliberately and forcibly penetrated Ms. Carroll’s [privates] with his fingers, causing immediate pain and long-lasting emotional and psychological harm.”

Trump first tried to dodge responsibility by saying, “I’ve never met this person in my life.” That dodge collapsed when a photograph emerged of Trump with Carroll in 1987.

Trump next dodged with the insulting and dismissive claim that “she’s not my type.” Trump himself disproved that. When shown a photo of himself, his then-wife Marla Maples, Ms. Carroll and her husband, Trump pointed to Carroll and said, “That’s my wife.” Compounding the awkwardness of mistaking Caroll for his wife, Trump’s dodge suggested that he DOES sexually assault women who ARE his type! In fact, Trump himself admitted as much: in the infamous Access Hollywood tape, Trump said he grabbed women by their privates without consent, which is exactly what the jury found he did to Carroll.

Trump’s final dodge is claiming presidential immunity. Trump says, “I have the right to do whatever I want as president.” Now he’s asking the Supreme Court to rule that, as president, he can sexually assault anyone he wants.

Larry Widman

Leland