Former Vice President Mike Pence has had a hot and cold relationship with former President Donald Trump but told NBC News on Tuesday that the recent mixed ruling in the E. Jean Carroll defamation and rape trial involving Trump will not negatively impact the former president’s future political ambitions.
This week, a jury determined the rape charges should not move forward, but a court awarded Carroll $5 million in defamation damages. Trump’s legal team will appeal the ruling.
“It’s just one more instance where — at a time when American families are struggling, when our economy is hurting, when the world seems to become a more dangerous place, almost every day — [there’s] just one more story focusing on my former running mate,” said Pence to NBC.
Noting how the ruling will not impact Trump’s election campaign, Pence added: “I know there is a great fascination to members of the national media, but I just don’t think it’s where the American people are focused.”
The Epoch Times noted that a New York “jury rejected Carroll’s allegations that she was raped but found that Trump should pay a total of about $5 million in damages … $3 million for the defamation charge and about $2 million for the civil battery charge.”
Pence, a possible 2024 GOP presidential candidate, defended Trump in the suit but declined to endorse Trump’s presidential bid. When asked if Trump was fit to serve as president, Pence said, “I think that’s a question for the American people.”
Pence added: “I’m sure the president will defend himself in that matter.”
Trump said of the court’s decision: “I have absolutely no idea who this woman is. This verdict is a disgrace — a continuation of the greatest witch hunt of all time!”
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