Washington (EFE)
In his first public appearance after being convicted, the Republican mocked the complainant, who accused him of abusing her in the changing rooms of a New York department store, and denounced that the trial was bought.
“I swear on my children that I have no idea who this woman is. It’s a false, made-up story,” Trump said at a meeting with citizens organized by CNN.
In addition, the former US president took the opportunity to mock Caroll, calling her “crazy”, amid applause and laughter from the spectators present.
On the show, Trump answered questions from journalist Kailtan Collins and voters on various topics, including the storming of the Capitol, the 2020 election, the war in Ukraine and abortion.
At various times, the interactions between Trump and the journalist became tense, with the former president even going so far as to insult Collins, calling her an “unpleasant person” while being applauded by the public.
The assault on the Capitol “a beautiful and incredible day”
File image of the assault on the US Capitol, in Washington, in January 2021. EFE
Regarding his defeat against the current president of the United States two years ago, Trump reiterated his allegations of electoral fraud, assuring that the elections that gave Biden the victory were “rigged.”
He also defended his actions during the assault on the Capitol.
For the former president, that January 6, 2021, the day on which hundreds of his followers violently stormed the Congress building and where 5 people died, “it was a beautiful and incredible day.” “It was the biggest crowd I’ve ever spoken to…they were proud and they had love in their hearts,” Trump said.
In addition, the former Republican leader went a step further in his defense of January 6 and assured that, if elected president, he would offer a presidential pardon to a large part of the people who have been convicted by the Justice for their actions during the assault.
Trump, in turn, rejected the other pending judicial investigations, including the case for handling classified documents and his attempted interference in the vote count in Georgia.
CNN’s decision to broadcast a program of this format with Trump, who had a tense relationship with the network during his tenure, was harshly criticized by some Democratic politicians and political analysts.
“I think it was a deeply irresponsible decision (…) that put a victim of sexual assault at risk and it was shameful,” said Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in an interview with MSNBC.
For his part, legislator Daniel Goldman wrote on his Twitter account: “Why did CNN organize a Trump rally?”