Good Morning! Trump supporters are stupid!
MAGA is throwing a tantrum because AOC did what she always does – said the thing everybody else is too scared to. You may have seen that I posted her tweet from yesterday that said, Wow who would have thought that electing a rapist would have complicated the release of the Epstein files? Predictably, Trumps defenders lost their minds. Suddenly they all think theyre lawyers, yelling about how Trump has a rock solid case to sue her for libel, demanding he take her to court. But if any of them actually understood how defamation law works – or how lawsuits work, or how facts work – theyd know exactly why Trump wont sue. And why hed be a fool to try.
(BTW – I actually have gone through all the steps to sue someone for libel – some of you may recall the 2014 #cyberhobo scandal – and it is incredibly hard to prove.)
So, lets start with the obvious: Trump was already found liable for sexual assault and defamation by a jury. Thats not speculation, thats not hearsay – thats a court record. He owes E. Jean Carroll over $80 million for what that jury determined he did to her. So when AOC calls him a rapist, shes not just throwing around accusations. Shes pointing to a legal verdict. Truth, in case anyone forgot, is a complete defense in a defamation case. If you dont want people calling you a rapist, maybe dont get found responsible for sexual abuse by a jury of your peers.
But even if we suspend disbelief and pretend theres no verdict, Trump is a public figure. That means the bar to prove defamation is sky-high. Hed have to show that AOC knowingly lied with actual malice, which is nearly impossible to do when shes basing her comment on a literal courtroom outcome. And lets be real – he doesnt want to step foot anywhere near a courtroom unless hes forced to, and even then, hes usually late, confused, and trying to intimidate the judge.
Now heres where it gets especially hilarious: if Trump actually sued, hed trigger discovery. That means both sides get to dig into each others evidence, emails, messages, records, everything. AOCs lawyers would get to depose every woman whos ever accused Trump of sexual misconduct. They could subpoena flight logs, visitor records, communications with Epstein, Mar-a-Lago guest lists – you name it. Theyd get to grill him under oath about his relationship with Epstein, about his time at parties with underage girls, about every NDA his team ever shoved in front of a woman to make her go away. It would be scorched earth – and thats exactly why Trump always folds when discovery is on the table. His entire legal strategy for decades has been threaten, delay, settle, deny. The second hes in a position where the other side gets to ask questions under oath? He bails.
And then theres the political angle. If Trump sued AOC, shed fundraise off of it. Shed post every legal update in real time. Shed quote his filings and turn them into merch. Shed make it go viral, because shes media-savvy and unafraid, and she knows how to flip a legal threat into a viral campaign. Meanwhile, hed be forced to explain – again – why he was found liable for sexual assault, why his name is all over Epsteins guest lists, and why he keeps doing everything possible to avoid testifying under oath. The entire country would be reminded of the long, ugly list of allegations hes tried to bury.
So no, MAGA, hes not going to sue AOC. Because even Trump knows that would be the legal equivalent of walking into a buzzsaw and handing your opponent the switch. Lets not pretend the guy who pleaded the Fifth 400 times suddenly wants to talk.