St. A's officials 'deeply troubled' by Trump's remarks at forum; Sununu calls audience reaction 'embarrassing'

May 14—Saint Anselm College officials responded over the weekend to ongoing criticism over a CNN Town Hall featuring former President Donald Trump held on campus last week, saying they are "deeply troubled" by some of the former president's remarks involving allegations of sexual abuse made against him.

The college's response came as Gov. Chris Sununu, during an interview that aired Sunday on MSNBC, called the audience's reaction to Trump's comments "embarrassing."

During last week's televised town hall forum, Trump denied he sexually abused E. Jean Carroll in a luxury New York department store dressing room in 1996 and said his lawyers advised him not to testify during the trial.

A jury last Tuesday awarded Carroll $5 million for sexual battery and defamation, though jurors decided Trump had not raped her.

"This is a fake story, and you don't want to give it credibility. That's why I didn't go," Trump said adding a short time later that Carroll "is a whack job."

Trump scoffed at the idea he would sexually assault a "60-year-old woman" (she was 54) in broad daylight in a department store near a New York luxury hotel that he owned.

"What kind of woman meets somebody, and within minutes you are playing hanky-panky in a dressing room?" Trump said, sparking laughter among many in the audience.

In a release issued over the weekend, Saint Anselm College officials said the event "in no way represented support or endorsement" of the former president's current campaign to win back the Oval Office.

"In particular, the college was deeply troubled by the former president's remarks regarding the civil trial with a finding that he was liable for sexual assault," college officials said in a statement. "Equally disturbing was the audience's reaction, nearly all of whom were not members of the Saint Anselm community, with laughter. The college does not tolerate sexual misconduct of any kind, including sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, stalking and sexual harassment."

Prior to the forum, about three dozen students and faculty protested the college's decision to host the event, holding signs that read, "Love Trumps Hate," "Sexual Predators Not Welcome Here" and "Hilltop is our home but it doesn't feel like it."

Asked about the forum's audience by MSNBC's Jen Psaki in an interview that aired Sunday, Sununu told the former White House press secretary, "it was embarrassing."

"The audience was absolutely filled with Trump supporters, so I wasn't surprised to hear the support," Sununu said. "But when you're talking about a serious issue like that, and laughter and mocking and all that, it's completely inappropriate, without a doubt."

Sununu is considering a 2024 run for president, but has yet to enter the race. He said he believes "almost all" of the audience members at the forum were supporters of the former president.

"Maybe they're undeclared voters, but I believe every single one of them had voted for Trump at some point," Sununu said. "I don't know how they determined that and set that up, but obviously it was a roomful of Trump supporters, so no one should have been surprised to hear the support. But again, on that issue, it was...I would call it embarrassing."

In a statement, Saint Anselm College officials said the audience was chosen by CNN and comprised of "New Hampshire Republican and undeclared voters who say they intend to vote in the New Hampshire Republican presidential primary."

"A small number of tickets were allotted to the college, which were offered to a limited number of members of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics political ambassadors, members of the College Republican and College Democrat clubs, and members of the Student Government Association," college officials said.

"There was no effort to disproportionately seat Trump supporters and no members of the audience were paid to appear."