An angry Donald Trump responded on social media Friday to the stunning $83.3 million verdict in a New York courtroom ordering him to pay advice columnist E. Jean Carrol – who accused the former president of sexual assault – for defaming her. 

"Absolutely ridiculous!" he raged on his social media platform Truth Social. "THIS IS NOT AMERICA!" 

He vowed to appeal the decision:

He also blasted how the justice system is being twisted by Democrats who seemingly will do anything to "Get Trump":

The former president, who frequently clashed with the judge during the trial, lashed out at the unfair treatment he received. It was a one-sided trial, he argued:

He is referring to the many strange things Carroll said over the last few years, including that "I think most people think of rape as sexy," and that she wouldn't pursue rape charges against Trump because she "would find it disrespectful to the women who are down on the border and who are being raped around the clock without any protection, they're young women..." Hm, what?

The saga has had many twists and turns since Carroll first made the wild accusation in a book she authored, claiming that Trump lured her into a dressing room in the 1990s at a crowded Manhattan department store and raped her. 

This is actually not the only defamation suit brought against Trump by the columnist; amazingly, Carroll filed another one over statements he made in 2022. Although that case was filed after the one that was decided Friday, it ended first -- in May -- because of delays in the first trial. That one also ended favorably for Carroll and resulted in a $5 million jury verdict against Trump.

Ms. Carroll, 80, filed two lawsuits against Mr. Trump. The first, in 2019, accused the former president of making disparaging comments and branding her a liar in response to the publication of her book “Why Do We Need Men? A Modest Proposal.”

...Mr. Trump immediately denounced her, first in a statement issued from the White House that day that accused her of being motivated by trying to sell her book, and again the following day when reporters crowded around him at the White House to ask about the accusations.

In 2022, Ms. Carroll filed a second lawsuit, accusing Trump of rape, and a new defamation claim based on social media statements in October of that year in which Mr. Trump accused her of perpetrating a hoax. She was able to sue over the rape accusation after New York passed a law giving adult sexual assault victims a one-time opportunity to file civil cases even if the statute of limitations had long expired.

See also:

NEW: Judge Rules Trump Defamed E. Jean Carroll in 2019

BREAKING: Federal Jury Issues Verdict in Trump Rape and Defamation Case

This whole sordid affair reminds me of the Brett Kavanaugh drama when Christine Blasey Ford claimed the now-Supreme Court Justice assaulted her almost four decades ago. She wasn't quite sure where (except that it occurred at a "party house"), she didn't know when, no eyewitnesses to the alleged action came forward, Blasey Ford's testimony was an inconsistent mess -- and yet she was believed by many and still is today. 

How Trump is essentially being told to pay $83.3 million for denying that the rape occurred is beyond me. You're not allowed to argue for your innocence anymore? 

It's hard not to agree with the GOP front-runner's tweet, "Our Judicial System is Broken and Unfair!"