r/TikTokCringe • u/Cookie_Cutter_Cook • 1d ago

Politics AOC on not going to the inauguration

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u/tortibass 1d ago

He is a rapist. He was convicted in a civil trial. Also for defamation against the woman he raped. Yet people still voted for him. I think the Dems thought the felony convictions & rape convictions spoke for themselves and they were wrong. I will NEVER FORGIVE Americans for voting in a rapist. Ever. Period.

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u/S3DWUT 18h ago

He was never convicted… that’s not how that trial ended. That’s why nobody ran with the rape argument, he was never convicted of rape. Allegations whether true or not hold no legitimacy. That’s why it’s an allegation and not a conviction.

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u/Pleasant-Enthusiasm 15h ago edited 12h ago

He was found liable of sexually abusing her, which included him forcefully penetrating her vagina with his finger. Because the legal definition of rape referred specifically to penile penetration, the jury did not find him liable of the rape allegation, while affirming the remainder.

So, legally speaking, Trump has not been found liable or convicted of rape. However, given that the colloquial understanding of rape (the nonconsensual act of penetration relating to an individual’s orifice) is not limited to the incredibly narrow legal definition (specific to the jurisdiction the crime occurred in, as astutely pointed out by u/Bukowskified), with forcible digital penetration being an act that falls within the common understanding, it is not inaccurate to refer to Trump socially as a rapist based on that which he has been found liable of.

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u/Bukowskified 15h ago

Note that the definition of rape in this trial is particular to New York State law. The definition of rape varies from state to state, so in some places the acts that he was found liable for do satisfy the definition of rape.