No, this isn't about the Kentucky Derby. This is about the jury that just found that former President Donald Trump sexually abused and defamed E. Jean Carroll. The jury did not find that Trump raped Carroll.
Shakezula found a particularly egregious example of a common media response to this ruling, and indeed, this entire lawsuit: framing it entirely in terms of the impact on Trump's political future. Will it hurt him? Help him? All be a wash?
How's this for a comment: it doesn't matter. I mean, obviously, it should matter in the sense that "a man whom a federal jury just found is a sexual predator and liar should have no political future, and it's appalling if that isn't the case." But beyond that, the idea that political calculations should play an iota of a role in terms of whether this case should have been brought, or how we respond to it, should appall us all.
The simple truth of that matter is that if E. Jean Carroll was sexually abused by Donald Trump, and then defamed by him, she deserved justice. A jury found that Trump did both of those things, and has now awarded her some measure of compensation and vindication. If it redounds to Trump's political advantage, it was worth it. If it redounds to Democrats' political advantage, it was also worth it. The political implications mean absolutely nothing in the face of ensuring that Ms. Carroll received the due a jury of her peers determined she was owed for being preyed upon by Trump. That's all there is to it.
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