Did Donald Trump testify in the E. Jean Carroll civil trial?

1. The short answer: he testified — but briefly

Multiple news outlets report that Trump took the witness stand during the later defamation proceeding tied to E. Jean Carroll and gave very short testimony — the Associated Press wrote he “testified for a total of less than three minutes” — after having skipped the 2023 trial where the jury found him liable for sexual abuse and defamation ^{[1] [2]}.

2. Two separate trials, two different roles for Trump

The litigation unfolded in stages: a 2023 federal trial produced a jury verdict finding Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll and defaming her, awarding $5 million; that was the trial Trump largely skipped. A subsequent follow-up defamation trial focused on damages for later comments while he was president, and at that follow-up proceeding Trump did testify briefly in his defense ^{[2] [1] [4]}.

3. Why his limited testimony mattered to coverage

Reporters highlighted the brevity and context: because the earlier jury’s findings constrained what Trump could say at the later trial, Judge Lewis Kaplan limited testimony that would “dispute or attempt to undermine” the earlier sexual-abuse finding — a factor that helps explain why his on-the-stand time was so short ^[1].

4. What Trump’s legal teams argued on appeal

In appeals and the petition to the U.S. Supreme Court, Trump’s lawyers have argued the trial court made “indefensible evidentiary rulings,” contending jurors improperly heard propensity evidence such as testimony from two other women and the “Access Hollywood” tape; those appeals aim in part to unwind the underlying $5 million judgment and related findings ^{[5] [6] [7]}.

5. How news outlets framed his courtroom presence differently

Mainstream outlets (AP, CNN, NYT, BBC, PBS, Politico) reported the factual sequence: Carroll testified at the 2023 trial and won; Trump skipped that trial but later testified briefly at a follow-up defamation trial ^{[1] [2] [7] [8] [9] [10]}. Right‑leaning outlets noted he “skipped the 2023 trial” and emphasized his short testimony in the later proceeding while also stressing criticisms of the judge’s evidentiary rulings ^{[3] [6]}. Those framing differences reflect editorial choices about emphasis, not disagreement on the core fact that he did, in fact, testify later ^{[1] [3]}.

6. What reporting does not say / limits of the sources

Available sources do not give a full verbatim transcript of Trump’s short testimony in the follow-up trial here; coverage focuses on duration, context and appellate arguments rather than on a detailed question‑by‑question record of what he said on the stand ^{[1] [2]}. If you need the precise courtroom transcript, the cited news stories do not provide it and court filings would be the next place to check (not found in current reporting).

7. Why the distinction between trials matters legally and politically

The difference between the liability trial ^[11] and the damages/defamation follow-up is legally consequential: findings in the first trial limited what could be litigated later and constrained Trump’s defense strategies, which his legal team now challenges on appeal and in a Supreme Court petition that argues evidentiary errors prejudiced him ^{[2] [5] [10]}.

8. Bottom line for readers

Factually, Donald Trump did testify in a later defamation trial tied to E. Jean Carroll — but his time on the stand was extremely short (under three minutes), and he had not testified at the 2023 trial that produced the initial sexual‑abuse and defamation liability finding; his lawyers continue to contest evidentiary rulings and the verdict in appellate and Supreme Court filings ^{[1] [2] [5]}.

Sources cited: AP ^[1]; CNN ^[2]; Fox News ^[3]; New York Times ^[7]; CNBC ^[5]; Politico ^[10]; BBC ^[8]; AP Supreme Court piece ^[4]; PBS ^[9]; The Hill ^[6].