Georgi Mihailov — who seems to come up with more questions in a day than all the Jeopardy! contestants in a month — wrote to ask this simple one…
What is your opinion on Donald Trump attempting to rape E. Jean Carroll?
My opinion is that we don't know that he did. I'm obviously no fan of Trump's and any guy who brags about forcing himself on women and grabbing them by the you-know-what has sacrificed a certain amount of trust in his denials of this kind of accusation. Still, Donald Trump could not possibly be guilty of every evil, scummy thing he's accused of doing. And it is possible to make a bogus charge against even someone who's very, very guilty of other misdeeds.
I was going to write that Ms. Carroll should be heard…but I guess she is being heard in the press. She should also have her charges examined by the proper investigative bodies. I have no idea how much evidence there is but those investigative bodies should investigate and the matter should not be driven by those who hope Trump is never cleared and that it hurts him politically, if not legally.
You probably remember Juanita Broaddrick, who claimed she was raped by Bill Clinton. If you didn't remember her from then, Trump enlisted her in attacks against Hillary. George Conway, who must have a wonderful fun life at home, says that Carroll's story is "at least as compelling as Broaddrick's — if not more so." Conway was a lawyer who aided Paula Jones in her claims against Bill Clinton so he has some credibility on this topic.
A number of women have accused Trump of inappropriate sexual conduct, if not outright rape. Some of their stories sound a bit hinky but many do not. They should all be given some official scrutiny by law enforcement. I'm not saying Trump is guilty in all or any of these matters but I agree with Conway that it would be hypocritical for anyone who believed Broaddrick deserved to be taken seriously to not take the same stance with Carroll.
And just as there are Trump supporters who wouldn't become non-supporters if he shot someone on Fifth Avenue, there are Trump supporters who won't care if he did rape someone.