Writer E. Jean Carroll, who successfully sued Donald Trump for defamation and won an $83 million judgment late last week, says she plans to use the money on something that will cause “pain” for the former president.
On Monday, Carroll, who appeared on ABC’s “Good Morning America” program, was asked how she plans to spend the judgment she won. “I do have an idea. I’d like to give the money to something Donald Trump hates,” Carroll said.
“If it’ll cause him pain for me to give money to certain things, that’s my intent,” she added, going on to say that she might create “a fund for the women who have been sexually assaulted by Donald Trump.”
Carroll’s civil lawsuit was years in the making, and came about after Trump, as president, publicly criticized her for writing in a memoir that he assaulted and raped her in a department store dressing room in the 1990s. After Trump left the White House, Carroll sued him, alleging that his comments tarnished her reputation.
In 2023, a jury determined that Carroll was indeed assaulted by Trump, and that his attacks amounted to defamation. That jury awarded her an initial $5 million in damages.
Last week, a separate jury awarded Carroll an additional $83 million, citing the harm to her reputation that resulted from Trump’s comments.
Trump has a few options to avoid directly paying Carroll the award she’s owed. He has indicated that he will appeal the decision — if he does, he could pay the $83 million to the court, which would hold on to the sum while the matter is hashed out. Trump could also try to obtain a bond for judgment during appeal, which would pay Carroll the amount while only requiring him to pay a small fraction of it for the time being.
A bond, however, would require him to find an agency willing to lend him the money, something that could prove difficult for Trump given his past problems paying back loans.
In the past, Trump has used his political action committee to make legal payments. He can’t do so with this latest judgment, however, as the $83 million he owes Carroll is well above what cash he currently has on hand. Meanwhile, political observers have noted that spending that amount during his presidential run could have an effect on his campaign.