Trump takes stand briefly during E. Jean Carroll defamation trial

Former President Donald Trump took the stand briefly in the E. Jean Carroll defamation trial on Thursday. 

“I just wanted to defend myself,” he said in testimony, according to The Associated Press.

Carroll has accused Trump of raping her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room during the 1990s.

A jury held Trump liable for battery and defamation in May of last year, though it specifically found that Trump's conduct amounted to sexual abuse and not rape. He maintains his innocence.

She is seeking over $10 million in damages and was in the courtroom when Trump was called as a witness in the Manhattan court.

“This is not America, not America, this is not America,” Trump said as he left the courtroom, according to The Hill.