Elise Stefanik Confronted Over Trump's E. Jean Carroll Case at Rally

House Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik has said she doesn't believe writer E. Jean Carroll's claim that Donald Trump sexually abused her in the dressing room of a Manhattan department store during the 1990s, despite a New York jury concluding he had in a civil case.

Stefanik, who has been tipped as a candidate to be Donald Trump's 2024 running mate if he secures the Republican nomination, was answering questions at a rally hosted by the GOP frontrunner in Concord, New Hampshire. One reporter asked Stefanik: "How do you grapple with standing by his side whilst a jury is debating how much to award E. Jean Carroll for being sexually abused by Donald Trump?"

The ongoing case is actually about whether Trump defamed Carroll a second time; a jury already concluded he sexually abused and defamed her during an earlier trial in May 2023, which saw the writer awarded $5 million in damages. Newsweek reached out to E. Jean Carroll and her attorney for comment on Saturday by email.

Stefanik replied to the journalist in New Hampshire: "There are witch hunts against Donald Trump."

The reporter interrupted, asking: "You don't believe E. Jean Carroll?"

The New York Republican pressed on with her answer to the first question, commenting: "Whether it's the bogus case from [New York Attorney General] Letitia James who is a radical prosecutor, they are all witch hunts against President Trump." In apparent reference to the second question, Stefanik then said: "No, of course, not."

Referring to the Carroll case, Stefanik later added: "They are all witch hunts against President Trump, and the reason why is he is polling ahead of Joe Biden, and Joe Biden is the weakest candidate we've ever seen. No, I don't believe that, and I support President Trump and you know what the media is so biased, this is just another example of the media being out of touch."

The journalist replied, "It's not me. It's not the media. It's a jury that found he sexually abused E. Jean Carroll," to which Stefanik said: "Again, the media is so out of touch with the American people; like 2016, you are going to see the American people speak out loudly and clearly with their vote."

A 1 minute, 15 second clip of the exchange, initially broadcast by conservative outlet Right Side Broadcasting Network, was posted on X, formerly Twitter, where it has received more than 1.8 million views.

Earlier this month, NBC News reported that Trump is considering Stefanik as his running made should he win the 2024 GOP nomination, having reportedly told advisers: "She's a killer."

Discussing Trump's possible running mates, Steve Bannon, who served as his chief White House strategist, replied: "Stefanik is at the top. If you're Trump, you want someone who's loyal above all else."

On Wednesday, Democratic Congressman Dan Goldman filed a motion to censure Stefanik, after she described Trump supporters imprisoned following the January 6, 2021 storming of Congress as "hostages."

On Thursday, Trump made 30 posts about either Carroll or her legal team, on his Truth Social website. Most were screenshots of posts that Carroll had previously made on X related to sex or sexuality. Newsweek contacted representatives of Trump by email asking why he was sharing these posts.

The day also saw Judge Lewis Kaplan order Alina Habba, Trump's attorney, to "sit down" in court during a fiery clash over whether the trial could be postponed the following day so the former president could attend his mother-in-law's funeral.