Trump claims rape accuser a 'wack job' and verdict he was liable for sexual abuse a 'rigged deal' at town hall

close

Video

It took Trump’s jury ‘less than 3 hours’ to find him liable in sexual abuse case: Bryan Llenas

Fox News correspondent Bryan Llenas reports on the details of former President Donald Trump’s jury unanimously finding him liable for sexual abuse and defamation on ‘Special Report.’

GOFFSTOWN, N.H. — Former President Donald Trump argued that the verdict by a federal jury that he was liable for sexual abuse was "a rigged deal" during a contentious primetime town hall of Republican and independent voters Wednesday evening in a crucial early voting presidential primary state.

The town hall, at Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire, was held one day after the jury in New York City found Trump liable for sexually abusing writer E. Jean Carroll in an upscale Manhattan department store nearly three decades ago, but not liable for the rape Carroll accused Trump of committing.

Along with trashing the verdict, Trump claimed that Carroll was "a wack job." The former president also reiterated that he had "never met this woman" and claimed that "this is a fake story, a made up story."

The jury on Tuesday concluded within a couple of hours that Trump was also liable for defamation based on the former president’s denial of Carroll’s allegations in a social media post from October 2022, when he called her claims a "hoax" and a "con job." The jury awarded Carroll nearly $5 million in damages for her battery and defamation claims.

TRUMP RIVAL TELLS FOX NEWS JURY VERDICT ‘DISTRACTION THAT REALLY HURTS THE REPUBLICAN CAUSE'

Writer E. Jean Carroll leaves a Manhattan courthouse on Tuesday after a jury found former President Donald Trump liable for sexually abusing her in a Manhattan department store in the 1990s. The jury awarded her $5 million in damages for her battery and defamation claims.  (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

And the verdict may serve as potential or partial vindication for more than a dozen women who over the years have lodged sexual misconduct allegations against the former president.

Trump, taking to social media after the verdict, charged that "THIS VERDICT IS A DISGRACE — A CONTINUATION OF THE GREATEST WITCH HUNT OF ALL TIME!" And the former president, in an interview with Fox News Digital just after the verdict, reiterated that he had "absolutely no idea" who Carroll was and added that he’ll appeal the ruling in the civil case.

TRUMP TELLS FOX NEWS HE'LL APPEAL VERDICT IN CIVIL TRIAL

The verdict came nearly six months into Trump’s third straight White House run, where public opinion polls indicate he’s currently the overwhelming front-runner amid the early stages of the Republican presidential nomination race.

Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Manchester, New Hampshire, on April 27, 2023. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

To date, when it comes to their choice for their party’s 2024 standard-bearer, it appears many Republican voters have discounted the numerous accusations and allegations that the former president has faced over the years.

But the CNN town hall — in front of a couple of hundred Republican or GOP-leaning voters in the state that holds the first primary and second overall contest in the GOP presidential nominating calendar — was the first real test of how this week's jury verdict in the civil trial will impact the Republican base.

Most of Trump's actual or likely rivals in the 2024 nomination race declined to blast the former president following the jury verdict.

WHO'S IN AND WHO'S ON THE SIDELINES — YOUR GUIDE TO THE 2024 GOP PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION RACE

Among those that did criticize Trump was Republican presidential candidate and former two-term Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who said Wednesday in a Fox News Digital interview that the verdict that Trump was liable for sexual abuse is a "distraction that really hurts the Republican cause."

And Hutchinson called Trump's actions "unbecoming of somebody who wants to be president."

Video

Former two-term New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie — who, like Hutchinson, is a vocal Republican critic of Trump — took aim at the former president on Fox News’ "Brian Kilmeade Show."

"His response, to me, was ridiculous — that he didn’t even know the woman. I mean, you know, how many coincidences are we going to have here with Donald Trump?" Christie, who's likely to launch a second GOP presidential nomination campaign, said. 

"I mean, he must be the unluckiest S.O.B. in the world. He just has random people who he has never met before, who are able to convince a jury that he sexually abused them. I mean, this guy. It is one person after another, one woman after another. The stories just continue to pile up," Christie added.

Trump was asked about a number of other issues during the town hall, including Russian's invasion last year of Ukraine and the ongoing war.

Trump repeated his boast that "if I’m president, I will have that war settled in one day."

Asked if he wanted Ukraine or Russia to win the war, the former president answered ,"I don’t think in terms of winning or losing. I think in terms of getting it settled, so we stop killing all these people."

Asked once more, he again didn't answer and instead said, "I want everybody to stop dying."

Trump also refused to say if Russian leader Vladimir Putin is a war criminal due to his actions in the war with Ukraine.

On gun violence, Trump vowed to protect the Second Amendment and concentrate on tackling the mental health crisis if elected. 

With the U.S. potentially defaulting on its financial obligations as soon as June 1 if Congress and the White House don't agree to a compromise to address the debt limit, Trump suggested the country should default if President Biden doesn't agree to Republican congressional spending cuts.

"Well, you might as well do it now because you'll do it later because we have to save this country. Our country is dying. Our country is being destroyed by stupid people, by very stupid people," Trump said. 

At the start of the town hall, Trump repeated his unproven claims that his 2020 election loss to Biden was due to a fraudulent election.

"Most people understand and what happened, that was a rigged election, it was a shame our country had to go through it," the former president claimed. And he charged that the 2020 contest "was a horrible election" and emphasized that "we have to have honest elections in our country."

But asked by an independent voter from Concord, New Hampshire, who was in the audience if he would suspend "polarizing" talk of election fraud as he runs again for the White House, Trump answered, "Yes."

Trump was also questioned about the Jan. 6, 2021, deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol by right wing extremists and other supporters of the then-president who aimed to disrupt congressional certification of Biden's 2020 election victory.

Some of those taking part on the assault on the Capitol were chanting, "Hang Mike Pence." The then-vice president was performing his constitutional duty of overseeing the certification, and along with lawmakers temporarily fled for safety. 

Former Vice President Mike Pence speaks with social conservative voters at a gathering of the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition in Clive, Iowa, on April 22, 2023. (Fox News )

Asked if he owed his former running mate an apology, Trump answered, "No, because he did something wrong… he made a mistake."

And Trump reiterated his claim that Pence had the constitutional authority to send the election results back to the states, saying, "Mike had the right to do it."

More than 300 protesters have been charged to date with assaulting, resisting or impeding officers or employees during the attack on the Capitol.

Asked if he would pardon — if elected again to the White House — some of Jan. 6 defendants convicted of crimes, Trump said, "I am inclined to pardon many of them… I would say it would be a large portion of them."

Looking ahead to next year's election, Trump was asked if he'd accept the 2024 results if he's the GOP nominee, Trump twice said, "if I think it's an honest election, I would be honored to."

Trump took multiple shots during the town hall at Biden. The president, in a fundraising tweet to supporters following the conclusion of the town hall, wrote, "It’s simple, folks. Do you want four more years of that? If you don’t, pitch in to our campaign."

Near the end of the town hall, Trump swiped at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is likely to jump into the GOP presidential nomination race in the coming weeks. The former president and his allies have repeatedly attacked the popular conservative governor for months.

Touting his expanded lead over DeSantis in recent Republican presidential primary polling, Trump said the Florida governor "ought to relax and take it easy and think about the future… because right now his future is not looking so good."

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis headlines the New Hampshire GOP's annual fundraising gala in Manchester, N.H., on April 14, 2023. (Fox News)

The trip was Trump's second in two weeks and third overall this year to the crucial early voting presidential primary state.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Ahead of the town hall, the New Hampshire Democratic Party took aim at the former president.

"Donald Trump will spin desperate lies about his record during tonight’s town hall like he does every time he parachutes into our state, but Granite Staters remember how disastrous his presidency was for New Hampshire," longtime state party chair Ray Buckley charged in a statement. "New Hampshire already rejected Trump’s dangerous agenda twice — and we’ll happily do it again."