Sexual abuse verdict renews Republican doubts about Trump’s electability

[Daily Kos Morning Roundup]( A morning roundup of worthy pundit and news reads, brought to you by Daily Kos. [Click here to read the full web version.]( - [Sexual abuse verdict renews Republican doubts about Trump’s electability]( Sexual abuse verdict renews Republican doubts about Trump’s electability, Isaac Arnsdorf, Josh Dawsey and Marianne LeVine, The Washington Post On Capitol Hill and in the presidential race, the former president faced criticism from some in his party In contrast to the almost uniform support for Trump in response to his indictment in a hush-money scheme, which was unsealed last month (Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts), several of Trump’s current and prospective GOP rivals were quiet on the verdict on Tuesday. Among those who did respond, the reaction was mixed. - [E. Jean Carroll Won, But the Country May Still Lose]( E. Jean Carroll Won, But the Country May Still Lose, Jill Lawrence, The Bulwark The more trouble Trump gets in, the more his fans admire him. Patience, all of you in despair at the crawling pace of federal and state investigations into the Former and Possibly Future Guy. Justice delayed isn’t always justice denied, even when you’re up against Donald J. Trump. This is the lesson of E. Jean Carroll’s legal triumph this week, both for her and for the other women who have accused Trump of sexual assault and misconduct (and there have been many, whether the count is 19, 26, or at least 43). It’s also a victory for all women who have been sexually assaulted by anyone, for all those who never spoke up or filed suit or who did and lost, and for anyone, male or female, who wondered if #MeToo accountability would ever come for this particular celebrity who never had to pay for his assertion that “When you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.” Carroll won her civil case against Trump. The jury found him liable for sexual abuse and defamation, and awarded her $5 million. - [Bad news: Daily Kos is facing tough financial times. Grassroots donors like you help us make ends meet. Can you chip in $5 to help us keep fighting?]( - [Inside Trump’s Truth Social rage bender: How the former president is spinning E. Jean Carroll’s sex-abuse verdict]( Inside Trump’s Truth Social rage bender: How the former president is spinning E. Jean Carroll’s sex-abuse verdict, Adam Klasfeld, Law and Crime Using the same platform that sparked his defamation liabilities, Trump raged in the immediate wake of the civil judgment. He raged throughout the evening. He raged three times after midnight. Then, presumably after getting some sleep, Trump woke up in the morning and raged again. - [Donald Trump Is Not a Legitimate Candidate for President]( Donald Trump Is Not a Legitimate Candidate for President, Jack Holmes, Esquire He may have legal standing to run, but anyone who attempts to stay in power after American voters tell them to leave should be barred from holding any office of the public trust. CNN will hold a town hall event with Donald J. Trump on Wednesday evening. On the face of it, hosting a presidential candidate to answer questions from voters is an unremarkable cable-network exercise, though in this case it's the day after the candidate in question was found liable by a civil jury for sexual abuse. Even before that verdict, critics were pounding CNN on the basis that in a live format, it will be highly difficult to get viewers the truth alongside whatever Trump is serving up. Moderator Kaitlan Collins has a massive task wading through the river of drivel, but the root question we ought to be asking here is why we, the press and public, have decided to treat Donald Trump as a legitimate presidential candidate. - [Show your support for progressive, independent news with a Daily Kos t-shirt—they're union decorated and made in the USA! Click here to get yours]( - [A Guilty Ex-President]( A Guilty Ex-President, David French, The New York Times I spent decades litigating cases, including a number of sexual harassment cases, and as I watched the evidence accumulate, I reached a tipping point — I would have been surprised by any verdict other than the one we received Tuesday. Juries can always surprise you, of course, but what made the verdict truly notable wasn’t the outcome. It was the identity of the defendant. In an important moment for the rule of law, a jury heard evidence against a former president and reached exactly the conclusion that it likely would have reached for anyone else. - [Epilogue: Lessons]( Epilogue: Lessons, Will Saletan, The Bulwark I set out to research the story of Graham’s relationship with Trump because I wanted to understand how authoritarianism arose in the United States. I wanted to see how the poison worked: the corruption, the rationalizations, the vulnerabilities in the system. I wanted to learn how democracies could detect such threats and counteract them. Here are some of the [twenty] lessons I learned. Emerging authoritarianism doesn’t look like an ideology. It appears in the form of a demagogue. It’s easy to support him while laughing off the idea that you’re embracing authoritarianism. Celebration of fear is a warning sign. When a demagogue brags about intimidating his enemies, and when voters and politicians flock to him for that reason, look out. Maybe he knows who the real villains are. Or maybe he’s the sort of person who attacks anyone in his way. ICYMI: Popular stories from the past week you won't want to miss: - [That creepy painting shows us Clarence Thomas has been bought by the worst people]( - [Twitter reacts to judgment against Donald Trump]( - [Russian military teeters on the brink of chaos, as Ukrainian forces advance]( Want even more Daily Kos? Check out our podcasts: - [The Brief: A one-hour weekly political conversation hosted by Markos Moulitsas and Kerry Eleveld]( - [The Downballot: Daily Kos' podcast devoted to downballot elections. New episodes every Thursday]( Want to write your own stories? [Log in]( or [sign up]( to post articles and comments on Daily Kos, the nation's largest progressive community. Follow Daily Kos on [Facebook](, [Twitter](, and [Instagram](. 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