"The era in which she existed and came to prominence professionally, is inseparable from understanding her experience," says @lawofruby of #EJeanCarroll. "She is suing [Trump] not only because he denied the sexual assault, but because he went further than that." #velshi pic.twitter.com/VRVJ8e0FQX
— Ali Velshi (@AliVelshi) April 30, 2023
She made her bones in the often macho "gonzo journalist" movement, inserting herself into -- and often doing crazy things -- in the name of a story. Her big break came from taking Fran Lebowitz *camping*; her byline appeared in Rolling Stone and Playboy. 2/
— Lisa Rubin (@lawofruby) April 28, 2023
Tacopino fell "into this other trap," former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance said on MSNBC on Saturday, "of putting the jury on her side and willing to listen to her testimony."
(snip)
Badgering an elderly woman isn't just a bad look, however. In going for maximum belligerence, Tacopino may have accidentally revealed a telling detail about why Trump allegedly raped Carroll in a dressing room that day. Not because he was overcome with lust. No, because Trump was angry over a perceived insult. We all know how he loves to take revenge over imaginary slights.
The crucial moment came during a back-and-forth between Carroll and Tacopino about a seemingly irrelevant detail from the day. In her original recounting, Carroll described Trump asking her to try on lingerie, and her teasingly countering with, "You try it on" and "it's your color."
(snip)
As I was reading this baffling exchange, I couldn't help but start picturing how Trump, who we all know has a tissue-thin ego, would react to having a pretty, witty woman tease him with jokes about putting on a teddy. There's no question about it. He would have felt emasculated. He would have been furious. He would have grown angrier and angrier as she kept the banter up. She probably thought they were having fun. In reality, she was dealing with a short-tempered narcissist who cannot take a joke.
Tacopino inadvertently answered questions that Carroll herself has said haunt her: Why her? Why that day? Why did Trump allegedly get violent so suddenly?
The lingerie jokes hold the answer: Trump felt humiliated by Carroll's teasing. He wanted to put her in her place.