During the last presidential campaign, Donald Trump made clear his motivations in trying to retake the White House.
“In 2016, I declared ‘I am your voice.’ Today I add, I am your warrior, I am your justice and for those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution,” Trump said at the 2023 Conservative Political Action Conference.
More than two years later, Trump has so far used his second term to make good on that promise, enacting what in many cases appears to be payback against a wide swath of critics and perceived political enemies.
In the most recent example, the Justice Department has launched a criminal investigation into E. Jean Carroll, the former magazine columnist who accused Trump of sexually assaulting her in a New York department store in 1996. The president has repeatedly denied the assault.
Carroll filed two lawsuits against Trump — the first in 2019 for defamation for denying he sexually assaulted her, and second in 2022 for defamation and sexual assault. Trump said Carroll wasn’t his type and claimed she made up the claim to boost sales of a book. In 2023, a jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll and defamation, awarding her $5 million. In the other case, a jury awarded her $83 million for defamation in 2024. Trump is appealing both judgements.
