Trump Blames 'Blurry' Photo After Mistaking E. Jean Carroll for Ex-Wife

Former President Donald Trump insisted that a "blurry" photo was to blame after mistakenly identifying an image of E. Jean Carroll as his ex-wife Marla Maples.

Trump has repeatedly claimed that Carroll, a former Elle columnist who has accused him of raping her at a Manhattan luxury department store in the 1990s, is not his "type." Video unsealed on Friday, taken while Trump was being deposed in Carroll's defamation lawsuit, may suggest otherwise.

The video features Trump repeatedly misidentifying Carroll as Maples while being shown a photo of himself with his accuser at a party. After the former president's attorney Alina Habba pointed out that Carroll was the woman in the image, Trump realized his mistake and argued that the picture was "very blurry."

A copy of the same black-and-white image, embedded in Carroll's legal complaint, does not appear to be at all blurry. Trump was not wearing glasses during the deposition and does not regularly wear glasses or contact lenses, although he has been spotted wearing reading glasses on rare occasions.

Prior to misidentifying Carroll during the deposition, Trump reaffirmed his assertion that she was not his "type." He later answered in the affirmative after Carroll's attorney asked if all three of the women he had married were his "type."

Trump also told Carroll's attorney that she "wouldn't be a choice of mine either" during the deposition, adding that he would not "have any interest" in her "under any circumstances" after saying he hoped she was "not insulted."

Newsweek has reached out via email to a representative for Habba and the office of Trump for comment.

Jurors in the civil trial were shown the video of Trump mistaking Carroll for Maples on Thursday. Attorneys for Carroll and Trump rested their cases on the same day, with closing arguments expected to take place on Monday.

Judge Lewis Kaplan has given the former president, who has not been present during the trial, until Sunday if he changes his mind and decides to testify.

Some legal experts have suggested that the deposition misidentification may have legally doomed the former president due to undermining his claim that he was not attracted to Carroll.

"Trump claims E. Jean Carroll isn't his type, but he mistook a picture of her for a picture of his ex-wife," former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti tweeted. "You don't need to be a lawyer to understand why his testimony could impact the jury's verdict."

"Trump has said E Jean Carroll wasn't his type, but he misidentifies a picture of her during his deposition as his 2nd wife, Marla Maples," Joyce Alene, also a former federal prosecutor, tweeted in response to the video. "His lawyer steps in to correct him before he can continue to dig himself in deeper."