Donald Trump accused of acting like “cartoonish villain” & “guiltiest man alive” in defamation trial

Donald Trump is reportedly doing himself no favors in his trial regarding his continued defamation of his rape victim E. Jean Carroll, with one columnist calling out the former president for “acting like a cartoonishly evil villain on an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.”

In an op-ed for Salon, Amanda Marcotte explained how Trump’s behavior in the court room is nothing like the typical defendant doing everything they can to seem like an innocent, upstanding member of society.

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“Despite repeatedly whining about how much time he has to spend in court,” Marcotte writes, “Trump has shown up in court, even though he doesn’t have to, just to intimidate not just Carroll but the jury members.

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She goes on to cite reports from MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin, who has been attending the trial and saying that Trump has been glaring at both jurors and Carroll, whom he has sat directly behind, doing, as Marcotte explains it, “everything he can to intimidate a woman he sexually assaulted in the 90s, as the jury found to be true in the last case.”

Rubin explained that Trump made audible sounds as jurors responded to questions from the judge, which Marcotte described as “radiating message as much as a 77-year-old man who smells like a butt can.”

“The only way he could seem any more like a sexual predator is if he wore a raincoat to court and periodically flashed any woman who came into view,” she continued.

Marcotte went on to explain how Trump’s behavior demonstrates exactly what feminists have long argued – that sexual assault is about power and not lust. She described Trump as “a predator stalking his prey” and proof that sexual assailants “are vicious sadists who enjoy watching their victims suffer.”

She explained that rapists believe attacking women is a sign of power, which “may impress the insecure man-children that make up the MAGA movement, but to normal people, it’s a sign of cowardice.”

“One would think that Trump would want this trial over with, if only to end the news cycle dominated with reminders he sexually assaults women,” Marcotte concluded. “But it’s a sign that there’s something even more important to him: Continuing to torture Carroll. He cannot stand that she stood up to him and won. The narcissistic injury is too great. So he’ll continue to act like the guiltiest man alive.”