Internet divided as E Jean Carroll asserts no one 'needs to be afraid' of Donald Trump

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: E Jean Carroll opened up about her changed perception of Donald Trump and how she overcame her fear of the former president during an interview with MSNBC host Rachel Maddow on Monday, January 29. 

The writer, who was awarded a whopping $83.3 million by the jury in her defamation lawsuit against the ex-POTUS, said he was "nothing" people "need to be afraid of."

E Jean Carroll opens up about being 'frightened' about facing Donald Trump

During the Monday interview, Carroll said that earlier she was "terrified" with the thought of facing Trump during the defamation trial. 

She shared, "Three days…four days before trial, I had an actual breakdown. I lost my ability to speak, I lost my words, I couldn’t talk and I couldn’t go on. It was…that’s how frightened I was."

However, the writer recalled that her fear dissipated once she was on the witness chair, as per The Hill.

She further expressed, "But oddly, we went into court, [lawyer] Robbie [Kaplan] took the Lecter, I sat in the witness chair like this. And she said, 'Miss. Carroll, good morning. Would you please state your name for the court?'" 

Carroll continued, "And amazingly, I looked out, and he was nothing. He was nothing. He was a phantom…it was the people around him who were giving him power, he himself was nothing."

Flaunting her new-found confidence, she elaborated, "It was an astonishing discovery for me. He’s nothing, we don’t need to be afraid of him. He can be knocked down." 

In another interview with CBS Mornings on Monday, Carroll compared Trump with the primary character from the tale 'The Emperor’s New Clothes' where the ruler was powerful only because of his followers.

She noted, "Well, Hans Christian Andersen’s great fairy tale, ‘The Emperor Has No Clothes?’ That is written about Donald Trump. It’s just we’re the ones who clothe him in all this power. He has none himself; it’s his followers. It’s his hangers-on." 

Notably, Carroll filed a defamation suit against Trump when he denied her allegations that he sexually assaulted her in 1996. The ex-POTUS has vowed to appeal the recent verdict in the court.

Internet reacts to E Jean Carroll's remarks about Donald Trump

Soon after Carroll's interviews regarding Trump came to light, netizens flocked to share their opinions regarding the ex-POTUS as well as the defamation trial. 

One said, "Weird, how she’s braver than every member of the Republican Party," and another noted, "Sometimes just standing up to a bully, throws them off their game." 

A person pointed out, "'He’s just a man.' That was a powerful interview," while someone else remarked, "Oh; he’s not gonna like this!" 

A naysayer expressed, "I can’t even watch the whole thing. Listening to those women is like fingernails on a chalkboard." 

"Trump is nothing and his lawyer is less than nothing. Any good lawyer will tell their client that the most important thing is not your freedom of speech but it's You have the right to remain silent," an individual opined. 

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.