E. Jean Carroll Speaks—and She’s Throwing Darts All Across Trumpworld

Edited for space, here is our conversation:

Burleigh: So where are you getting all these flight suits? Because the last time I saw you, you had an orange one on.

Carroll: I got five in the closet. From actual Army surplus. They’re not designer jumpsuits. I got some collectibles in there. The orange one was from the ’60s. The blue one’s from the ’80s. You know, because fuck, if he can put tanks on the street, Nina, I can put a flight suit on my body. And we’re in a fight.

Burleigh: What’s up with the Chartreuse?

Carroll: It’s medicinal. It’s got one hundred thirty herbs, bark, flowers. My lawyer gave me a bottle when I was insomniac during the trial. It works. You know, these monks made this since the 1500s. I don’t drink. I don’t drink a lot. (sips) Isn’t that fucking great?

Burleigh: Talk to me about your choice to describe in the book all the “fabulous” clothes you wore. Isn’t that kind of a female cliché?

Carroll: The woman’s body is always the center. And so I took that fact and turned it. And if you notice in the book, I wrote about what everybody had on in the trial. I wrote about the runway. I wrote about Joe Tacopina and the inside of his jacket. I wrote everything that Alina was wearing. I got it back. You know, I’m like, this is what I wore, but this is what they wore. And as women, every woman reading this, knows: What we put on our bodies tells the world who we are, tells the world. And that’s just a fact.

Burleigh: What was your take on Tacopina?

Carroll: He was disgusting. You know, he’s a great defense lawyer. I mean, Trump hired the best defense. He hired the guy who defended the guy who bludgeoned Natalee Holloway; got him out of jail for fifteen years. Michael Jackson, this guy got him acquitted. Tacopina was way too good for this case. But he followed Trump’s orders and he lost. Trump hired him because he beats up on Black women. Because he beats up on grandmas. As with the Stormy Daniels case, Trump hires lawyers to say what he wants. Tacopina probably would have lost that too. Let’s toast that. Cheers! We’re drinking shark juice. It’s going down well.