Maggie Haberman Says Trump ‘Very Bothered’ By Rape Allegation Against Him

New York Times reporter and CNN analyst Maggie Haberman said the civil case brought by a woman who claims Donald Trump sexually assaulted her concerns him because of the gravity of the accusation.

Writer E. Jean. Carroll claims Trump raped her in the dressing room at the Bergdorf Goodman in Manhattan in either 1995 or 1996. The trial began in New York on Tuesday. Trump did not attend, as his presence is not required in the civil proceeding.

The former president vehemently denies the allegation. He has also mocked her on his Truth Social platform, calling her “Miss Bergdorf Goodman,” which earned his lawyers a scolding from the judge in the trial.

“How concerned is Donald Trump about that case?” Michael Smerconish asked Haberman on Thursday’s CNN Primetime.

She responded:

Everyone I’ve talked to says that Trump is personally very bothered by this case because, you know, it is a rape allegation. It’s not a criminal case. It’s not a charge. But it is a very, very serious allegation and he knows it, and it bothers him. It bothers him a lot. I think that he knows that he got himself in some trouble by attacking her on his social media website. That was just unhelpful to his case. Now, does that mean he’s gonna talk about it? Not necessarily. But behind the scenes, he is making very clear how he feels and it’s not positive.

The judge case admonished one of Trump’s attorneys at the trial on Thursday.

“At times during the cross-examination, Mr. [Joe] Tacopina’s approach led to admonishments from the judge, Lewis A. Kaplan of Federal District Court,” the New York Times reported. “‘Come on, Mr. Tacopina,’ the judge said at one point, later repeating that the lawyer’s questions were ‘argumentative.'”

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