Donald Trump is losing bigly in the court of public opinion to the woman who successfully sued him for sexual abuse and defamation.
Americans believe E. Jean Carroll over Donald Trump by nearly two to one, according to a new YouGov/The Economist poll that asked who was telling the truth regarding allegations that the president sexually assaulted her in the 1990s.
The survey found that 46 percent sided with Carroll, while 27 percent believed Trump.
Among independents, belief in Carroll was even more pronounced, with 54 percent siding with Carroll, compared with just 14 percent who believed Trump.
Even six percent of self-described MAGA supporters said they believed Carroll’s account.
The survey also found that Americans broadly support the jury verdicts awarding Carroll a combined $88.3 million after two successful lawsuits against Trump, by a margin of 48 percent to 30 percent.
Trump has repeatedly denied Carroll’s allegations, but two juries found him liable for sexual abuse and defamation after Carroll accused him of attacking her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the mid-1990s.
The poll comes amid conflicting reports that Trump’s Justice Department opened a criminal investigation examining Carroll’s 2022 deposition.
CNN reported that investigators were scrutinizing Carroll’s testimony that outside backers were not funding her lawsuit after it later emerged that billionaire Reid Hoffman had helped cover some legal fees and expenses.
But on Thursday, Andrew Boutros, the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, denied reports that Carroll herself was the target of a criminal probe.
“The Chicago U.S. Attorney’s Office can confirm that it has not opened—and has never opened—a criminal investigation into E. Jean Carroll," Boutros said in a statement.
“Any claim to the contrary is categorically false.”
CBS News later reported that Carroll’s testimony was instead being examined as part of a separate investigation involving a nonprofit linked to Hoffman.
The YouGov poll found Americans narrowly opposed a Justice Department investigation into Carroll for perjury, with 41 percent disapproving and 39 percent approving.
Among independents, opposition outweighed support by a 44 percent to 29 percent margin.
Trump continues to fight the judgments against him. On Tuesday, his lawyers told the Supreme Court they plan to appeal the $83.3 million defamation verdict awarded to Carroll, while the justices are already considering a separate appeal involving the $5 million judgment stemming from a jury’s finding that Trump sexually abused her.
In previous court filings, Trump’s lawyers argued it was “deeply damaging to the fabric of our Republic” for the president to remain entangled in what they described as “decades-old, false allegations.”
The White House referred the Daily Beast to Trump’s personal lawyer for comment. The White House did not respond to a request for additional information.
