E. Jean Carroll

Former US President and 2024 candidate Donald Trump is now in deep trouble after a jury in New York ordered him to pay $83.3 million to compensate the writer E. Jean Carroll, whom he was found to have sexually assaulted and defamed. No one is above the law. Everyone should be prepared for his or her punishment of wrongdoing (“Court orders Trump to pay $83.3m in sex assault case,” Jan.27, Gulf Today website).

According to the report, the civil order, which prompted an audible gasp in the federal court, far exceeds the more than $10 million in damages for defamation that Carroll had sought. Trump lashed out almost immediately, calling the verdict “ridiculous” in a statement and promising to appeal. The jury reached its decision after slightly less than three hours of deliberations. Trump had been in court earlier, storming out at one point but subsequently returning for closing arguments. He was not in court when the level of compensatory and punitive damages were read out by a court clerk.

There is no doubt that Donald Trump is a strong candidate for the upcoming US presidential elections but he has to be careful and work on his personal attitude towards others. Trump is facing a number of cases. Civil court verdicts against him will definitely dent his popularity and he may lose the popular vote of US voters.

Sharafat Usman,

By email