A full 48-minute video of Donald Trump’s deposition during a defamation case brought on by author E. Jean Carroll was released Friday, revealing numerous peeks inside the former president’s way of thinking.
During the deposition, which took place in October 2022 at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, questioned the former president not only about things he has said about Carroll since she accused him of defamation and rape, but also about the numerous other claims from women who have also accused him of sexual misconduct.
Included in the deposition were question about the infamous audio leak taken from the “Access Hollywood” bus Trump was on in 2005 with then-host Billy Bush. In the clip, released just prior to the 2016 election, Trump could be heard saying he can’t help but kiss women and that “when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab them by the p—sy.”
Around the 38:00 minute mark of the deposition video, Kaplan asked Trump if those were indeed his statements:
TRUMP: Well, historically, that’s true with stars.
KAPLAN: It’s true with stars that they can grab women by the p—sy?
TRUMP: Well, that’s what, if you look over the last million years I guess that’s been largely true. Not always, but largely true. Unfortunately or fortunately.
KAPLAN: And you consider yourself to be a star?
TRUMP: I think you can say that. Yeah.
KAPLAN: And now you said before, a couple of minutes ago, that this was just locker room talk.
TRUMP: It’s locker room talk.
KAPLAN: And so does that mean that you didn’t really mean it?
TRUMP: No, it’s locker room talk. I don’t know. It’s just the way people talk.
Other highlights of the deposition include Trump mistaking a photo of Carroll for that of his ex-wife, Marla Maples. His own attorney Alina Habba, was forced to intervene (10:55):
KAPLAN: You have in front of you a black and white photograph that we’ve marked as DJT 23. And I’m going to ask you, is this the photo that you were just referring to?
TRUMP: I think so, yes.
KAPLAN: And do you recall when you first saw this photo?
TRUMP: At some point during the process, I saw it. That’s I guess her husband, John Johnson, who was an anchor for ABC, nice guy, I thought, I mean, I don’t know him but I thought he was pretty good at what he did. I don’t even know who the woman. Let’s see, I don’t know who – it’s Marla.
KAPLAN: You’re saying Marla’s in this photo?
HABBA: No, that’s Carroll.
TRUMP: That’s Marla, yeah. That’s, that’s my wife.
KAPLAN: Which woman are you pointing to?
TRUMP: Here.
TRUMP: [inaudible] Oh I see.
KAPLAN: The person you just pointed to is E. Jean Carroll.
TRUMP: Who’s that, who’s this?
HABBA: [inaudible] That’s your wife.
KAPLAN: And the person, the woman on the right is your then-wife –.
TRUMP: I don’t know, this was the picture. I assume that’s John Johnson. Is that –.
HABBA: That’s Carroll.
TRUMP: – Carroll, because it’s very blurry.
Despite this confusion, Trump would later state that Carroll is not his “type” of woman (21:19):
TRUMP: I saw her in a picture. I didn’t know what she looked like. And I said it, and I say it with as much respect as I can, but she is not my type.
After more back and forth with Trump repeating the claim, Kaplan ended the exchange:
KAPLAN: I take it the three women you’ve married are all your type?
TRUMP: Yeah.
Trump also invoked the “not my type” defense while denying Carroll’s accusation that he raped her in the dressing room of a Bergdorf Goodman department store in Manhattan in the mid-1990s, deeming it “the worst charge” (31:52):
KAPLAN: Okay, then you go on to say in the statement, “And while I’m not supposed to say it, I will.” Why were you not supposed to say it?
TRUMP: Because it’s not politically correct to say – read the next, go ahead, that she’s not my type. Yeah, because it’s not politically correct to say it, and I know that, but I’ll say it anyway. She’s accusing me of rape. A woman that I have no idea who she is. It came out of the blue. She’s accusing me of rape, of raping her. The worst thing you can do, the worst charge. And, and you know, you know it’s not true too. You’re a political operative also. You’re, you’re a disgrace. But she’s accusing me, and so are you, of rape, and it never took place. And I will tell you, I made that statement. And I said, well, it’s politically incorrect. She’s not my type. And that’s 100% true. She’s not my type.
Trump also referred to Carroll as a “whack job” and a “nut job” that he didn’t know (27:20):
TRUMP: I still don’t know this woman. I think she’s a whack job. I have no idea. I don’t know anything about this woman other than what I read in stories and what I hear. I know, I know nothing about her. She said that I did something to her that never took place. There was no anything. I know nothing about this nut job.
As he has when speaking of other accusations made against him in the past, Trump deemed Carroll’s charges of rape and defamation as a “hoax” (32:45):
KAPLAN: Now, in your Truth Social statement on October 12, you use the word hoax. Specifically, you say, “It is a hoax and a lie just like all the other hoaxes that have been played on me for the past seven years.” Do you see that?
TRUMP: Yeah.
KAPLAN: Recall making that statement? And I take it what you’re saying there is Ms. Carroll fabricated her claim that you sexually assaulted her, correct?
TRUMP: Yes, totally. 100%.
KAPLAN: Fair to say, you’d agree with me, would you not, that you use the term hoax quite a lot?
TRUMP: Yes, I do.
KAPLAN: CNN reported that you used it more than 250 times in 2020. Does that sound right?
TRUMP: Could be. I’ve had a lot of hoaxes played on me. This is one of them.
KAPLAN: And how would, how would you define the word hoax?
TRUMP: A fake story. A false story. A made up story.
KAPLAN: Something that’s not true.
TRUMP: Something that’s not true. Yes.
KAPLAN: Sitting here today can you recall what else you have referred to as a hoax?
TRUMP: Sure. The Russia Russia Russia hoax, it’s been proven to be a hoax. Ukraine Ukraine Ukraine hoax. The Mueller situation for two and a half years hoax – ended and no collusion. It was a whole big hoax. The lying to the FISA court hoax; the lying to Congress many times hoax by all these people, this scum that we have in our country; lying to Congress hoax; the spying on my campaign hoax. They spied on my campaign and now they admitted that was another hoax, and I could get a whole list of them. And this is a hoax too.
KAPLAN: This, when you say this and that –.
TRUMP: This ridiculous situation that we’re doing right now, it’s a big fat hoax. She’s a liar and she’s a sick person in my opinion, really sick. Something wrong with her.
Also a hoax? Mail-in voting ballots, according to Trump (34:35):
KAPLAN: OK, in addition to the Russia Russia Russia hoax, the Ukraine Ukraine Ukraine hoax, the Mueller the Mueller or Mueller hoax, the lying to FISA hoax, the lying to Congress hoax, and the spying on your campaign hoax. Isn’t it true that you also referred to the use of mail in ballots as a hoax?
TRUMP: Yeah, I do. I do. I think they’re very dishonest, mail in ballots, very dishonest.
KAPLAN: And isn’t it true that you yourself have voted by mail?
TRUMP: I do. I do. Sometimes I do. But I don’t know what happens to it once you, once you give it, I have no idea.
Carroll’s representation rested their case at the trial on Thursday. Trump’s lawyers did not counter with a witness of their own.
Trump has faced a firestorm of legal issues in the past month. He was indicted in New York for paying hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels, and his former Vice President Mike Pence testified before a grand jury that is investigating Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
