Trump Attacks E. Jean Carroll to CNN Town Hall Audience Laughter

Donald Trump fans burst into uproarious laughter during a CNN town hall event on Wednesday when the former president mocked E. Jean Carroll's claim that he raped her.

Carroll, a former Elle columnist, accuses Trump or raping her at a luxury department store in New York City in the 1990s. On Tuesday, Carroll's civil lawsuit against the ex-president ended in a mixed verdict, with Trump being ordered to pay her $5 million after the jury found him liable for sexual abuse and defamation but not rape.

Trump, who has denied the accusations, responded to the trial's outcome by declaring it "a continuation of the greatest witch hunt of all time." The former president repeated his denials Wednesday on CNN—a network he has repeatedly referred to as "fake news"—during a live event in New Hampshire with anchor Kaitlan Collins.

The town hall's audience consisted of locals expected to vote in New Hampshire's 2024 GOP presidential primary, with most already seemingly being enthusiastic supporters of the former president.

Trump was greeted with a standing ovation when taking the stage and applause while he expressed support for January 6 Capitol rioters and repeated falsehoods about the 2020 presidential election.

While addressing the Carroll verdict, the former president boasted that his "poll numbers went up" despite the allegations and claimed that he had "never met" the former columnist.

Trump complained that the judge did not allow his legal team to tell the jury that Carroll's "cat was named Vagina" and offered commentary that referred to the alleged rape as "hanky panky." The audience reacted with laughter.

"What kind of a woman meets somebody, and brings them up, and within minutes you're playing hanky panky in a dressing room," Trump said while recalling Carroll's version of events, prompting loud laughs from the crowd.

Trump went on to say that he "felt sorry" for Carroll's ex-husband John Johnson, resulting in even bigger laughs and a round of applause for the former president.

Newsweek has reached out via email to Carroll's attorney for comment.

The former president's remarks, and the laughter-tinged response of the pro-Trump crowd, prompted outrage from some on social media.

"There is simply no way CNN can feign ignorance about the fact that they set up a sexual assault victim to be targeted and attacked on national television a day after the verdict," tweeted Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. "People were sounding the alarm about this exact scenario. They let it happen anyway without a plan."

"I can't believe this is being allowed on @cnn," former Fox News host Gretchen Carlson tweeted. "This is promulgating the cult leadership of Trump—and people are laughing at sexual assault. God save us. And now trump says it's because women LET YOU grab 'em by the p****. #TrumpTownHall"

Political commentator and CNN contributor Ana Navarro-Cárdenas tweeted, "I had no expectations re Trump. He's true to form—a chaotic, lying bully. What's disappointing is the audience, clapping & laughing at minimizing sexual abuse & other awful s***. Exhausting as it is, he's gonna be the nominee. We will come out & beat him again. It is what it is."

"The laughter from the audience when Trump was asked about E. Jean Carroll was despicable," investigative journalist David Heath tweeted.

A spokesperson for CNN defended the town hall in a statement to Newsweek, while praising Collins for having "exemplified what it means to be a world-class journalist" by asking "tough, fair and revealing questions" of the former president.

"[Collins] followed up and fact-checked President Trump in real time to arm voters with crucial information about his positions as he enters the 2024 election as the Republican frontrunner," the spokesperson said. "That is CNN's role and responsibility: to get answers and hold the powerful to account."