Trump sues ABC News, host George Stephanopoulos over controversial interview with Nancy Mace
Trump has filed a defamation lawsuit against ABC News and George Stephanopoulos, alleging that the host made disparaging remarks during an interview with Mace.
Former US President Donald Trump has filed a defamation lawsuit against ABC News and George Stephanopoulos, alleging that the host made disparaging remarks during an interview with Rep. Nancy Mace.
The 20-page lawsuit, filed in US District Court in Miami, claims that host Stephanopoulos defamed Trump while interviewing Mace on ‘This Week’, Fox News reported. He asked Mace how she could support Trump after a jury found him accountable for "sexual abuse" in the case of writer E. Jean Carroll.
Trump alleged that Stephanopoulos' frequent use of the word "rape" during the interview amounted to defamation.
Earlier this year, a jury awarded $83.3 million in additional damages to Carroll. This came after another jury awarded her $5 million in damages in sexual assault and defamation verdict in 2023. Trump has disputed her allegations and filed an appeal against the verdict.
The lawsuit states that Trump's team approached ABC News following the Mace interview, requesting a retraction and a statement of regret. While ABC did not respond to his request, they changed the heading of a related article from "rape" to “sexual assault”. The lawsuit also listed over ten incidents in which Stephanopoulos stated that Trump "was found to have committed rape" or "liable for rape".
The lawsuit alleges that the Stephanopoulos assertions were "false, intentional, malicious, and designed to cause harm."
Nancy Mace lambasts Stephanopoulos over Trump rape case
During ABC News' This Week, Mace seemed annoyed when Stephanopoulos played a video in which she stated that she had been raped.
The host first questioned Mace over endorsing Trump after two distinct juries held him responsible for rape and defamation of the victim.
"How do you square your endorsement of Donald Trump with the testimony that we just saw?” he asked.
“Any rape victim will tell you I’ve lived for 30 years with an incredible amount of shame over being raped,” Mace responded. “It’s a shame that you will never feel, George. And I’m not going to sit here on your show and be asked a question meant to shame me about another potential rape victim. I’m not going to do that.”
Mace also emphasised that Trump's case was "not a criminal court case." She also corrected Stephanopoulos that Trump was guilty of sexual assault rather than rape.
"It was not a criminal court case, number one," she stated. “Number two, I live with shame. And you're asking me a question about my political choices, trying to shame me as a rape victim and I find it disgusting.”
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After her exchange with Stephanopoulos, Mace took to social media and blasted the ABC host for attempting to insult her as a rape victim
"I was brought on to talk about 2024...instead Clinton crony turned fake journalist @Gstephanopoulos attacked me and tried to shame me as a rape victim. Gross," she wrote. In response, Stephanopoulos said, “We'll let the viewers decide about that.”
Meanwhile, Carroll thanked Stephanopoulos for “valiantly defending” her.
“I wish representative Mace well. And I salute all survivors for their strength, endurance and holding on to their sanity," she wrote on X.
