- Donald Trump was ordered Friday to pay E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million in a defamation lawsuit.
- “I'm not going to waste a penny on this,” Carroll said in an interview with The New York Times on Saturday.
- Trump has vowed to appeal, but Carroll said he already plans to buy “high-end” food for his dog.
Many thoughts went through her head Friday after a judge awarded E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million in defamation damages against former President Donald Trump.
Mr. Trump has vowed to appeal the ruling, so it could be some time before the money actually becomes available. But Carroll told the New York Times on Saturday that he plans to handle the money carefully once he gets it.
“I'm not going to waste a penny on this,” she told the newspaper. “We're going to do something good with it.”
Carroll told the Times that she has not yet decided how she will spend the money awarded by the jury, but she plans to at least treat her two dogs to expensive food.
“Now I'll be able to buy high-end dog food,” she told the newspaper.
Last May, Trump lost another civil case in which a court found the former president liable for sexual abuse of Carroll, an Elle magazine columnist in the 1990s. In this particular case, Trump was ordered to pay Carroll $5 million in damages.
After the latest trial, Carroll said the woman was the real winner of the verdict.
“This victory, more than anything else, put a flag on the ground for this victory after losing the right to our own bodies in many states, when we needed it most. Women won,” she said. newspaper. “I think that bodes well for the future.”
During the trial, Trump attacked Carroll in a series of Truth Social posts, including messages published while he was sitting in court.
President Trump slammed the verdict on Truth Social on Friday, saying, “Our legal system is out of control and being used as a political weapon.”
The former president later emphasized that he was “totally” opposed to the ruling, but did not address Carroll directly. Carroll told the Times she didn't know if that meant Trump would eventually stop attacking her.
“I have no idea what Donald Trump will or won’t do in the future,” she told the newspaper. “I can't guess.”
Carroll told the Times she was “terrified” in the lead-up to the trial because she would have to confront the person she accused of assaulting her. But once she entered the courtroom, she said she felt energized.
“When you actually confront the guy, he's just a guy with no clothes on,” Carroll said. “The people around him give him strength.”
