NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump’s behavior toward women, long a source of flashpoints in his political career, now faces a new level of scrutiny: a trial in a lawsuit accusing him of rape.
Jury selection is set to start Tuesday in the case filed by former advice columnist E. Jean Carroll, who says Trump raped her in a luxury New York department store dressing room in the 1990s.
Trump, who is unlikely to attend the trial, has called the accusations “a complete con job.” Carroll, who is seeking unspecified damages, casts the case as a #MeToo-inspired quest for accountability from the epitome of prominent men.
“I’m filing this lawsuit not just for myself but for every woman in America who has been grabbed, groped, harassed, sexually assaulted and has spoken up and still has been disgraced, shamed or fired,” Carroll said early on.
The lawsuit puts Trump’s history with women under a microscope as he runs to return to the White House.
“To the extent that the chaos around Trump is his biggest challenge, this reinforces that narrative,” said Alex Conant, a Republican strategist who worked on Marco Rubio’s 2016 presidential campaign. “The No. 1 thing I hear in focus groups of Republican voters is that they’re tired of the constant drama that comes with Trump.”
Trump’s political rise was riddled with criticism of his attitudes and conduct toward women. There were his insulting remarks about onetime Republican rival Carly Fiorina’s appearance, his misogynistic comments about former Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, his double-down on denigrating a former Miss Universe whom he had pilloried about her weight and more — including, most notoriously, the crass “Access Hollywood” hot-mic recording that nearly derailed his 2016 campaign and elicited rare contrition for what he called “locker room banter.”
Then there were the dozen-plus women, including Carroll, who came forward during his campaign and presidency to accuse him of sexual assault and harassment. He denied all the claims. Other lawsuits over them were dropped or dismissed, but Carroll’s has endured.
If Trump prevails in the case, he will likely tout it as another example of him beating what he sees as spurious claims about him, Conant said. If he loses, the impact could depend on the circumstances of the judgment. Carroll is seeking unspecified damages and a retraction of Trump’s denials of her allegations.
