Good morning, Broadsheet readers! Two women face off for Mexico’s presidency on Sunday, a new women’s professional basketball league raised new seed funding, and Donald Trump’s history with women proves to be his weak spot yet again. Have a fun weekend!
– Verdict’s in. Once again, Donald Trump’s history with women has proven to be his downfall. The former president was found guilty on 34 felony counts yesterday in the trial over falsifying business records related to a 2016 hush-money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
Daniels’ (legal name Stephanie Clifford) experience with Trump dates back to 2006 when she met the then-businessman and accepted his invitation up to his hotel suite, where they had sex—an event Trump tried to cover up during his 2016 run for the presidency.
Since becoming associated with Trump, Daniels has told her own story on tour as a performer and in a documentary and been a target—attacked by Trump supporters online and judged by people in her day-to-day life. She testified in this trial, telling the long tale of her time with Trump and everything that followed.
“I used to be very adamant that I’m not a victim, but I kind of am at this point,” she told New York Magazine last year.
Daniels’ story is very different from other women’s experiences with the former president. E. Jean Carroll, the journalist and author, accused Trump of rape; he was found liable in civil court. Carroll won $83.3 million in a defamation suit against Trump, who spewed insults at her on Truth Social and other platforms. Tens of other women have described inappropriate encounters with Trump over the years, all of which he has denied.
While Carroll’s experience is one she has always called sexual assault, Daniels has an evolving perspective on her own experience with Trump. She told New York Magazine that she has reflected more at the power dynamics at play in her encounter with Trump, and that she did not provide an enthusiastic “yes” to sex with him. “It was not rape. I was very adamant in the beginning about saying I wasn’t a victim. But looking back? I kind of was,” she says.
Carroll and her attorney Robbie Kaplan were among the first to hold Trump to account in court, as they recalled at a Fortune Most Powerful Women dinner earlier this month. (Carroll said in that interview that she and Daniels came close to meeting, but haven’t spoken; Carroll posted an image of Daniels with the caption “Justice!!” on Instagram after the verdict.) And now, Trump is the first American president to be a convicted felon—thanks to his history with Daniels. (Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg brought the case.)
Trump is still the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, and it’s unclear what this conviction means for his political prospects. His sentencing is scheduled for July 11; possible sentences range from probation to four years in prison. He called the trial a “disgrace” and “rigged” and has already begun fundraising off of the verdict, calling himself a “political prisoner.”
For now, what we know is that Trump’s history with women is what has come closest to derailing his political future time and time again. From the 2016 discovery of the “grab ’em by the pussy” video to Carroll’s victory to this verdict—this is his weak spot. Whether that matters enough to voters, we’ll find out this year.
Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com
The Broadsheet is Fortune’s newsletter for and about the world’s most powerful women. Today’s edition was curated by Joseph Abrams. Subscribe here.
ALSO IN THE HEADLINES
- To the polls. Mexico City Mayor and Nobel Prize-winning climate scientist Claudia Scheinbaum is the clear front-runner to become Mexico's first woman president when voters take to the polls this Sunday. Tech entrepreneur Xóchitl Gálvez is Sheinbaum's only other major opposition, though she is polling 20 percentage points behind Scheinbaum. New York Times
- Filling the off-season. Unrivaled, a new professional women’s basketball league, announced on Thursday that it raised new funding from media executives and NBA players ahead of a January launch. Founded by current WNBA players Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier, the league will run during the WNBA’s offseason and offer players equity. CNBC
- On their feet. Foot Locker saw a 30% jump in stock during its Q1 earnings report on Thursday thanks to an effective turnaround plan put in place by CEO Mary Dillon. The former Ulta Beauty chief told CNBC that the company's pivot is a result of revamped physical stores, a revamped mobile app, and the return of brand partners like Nike. CNBC
- No phone zones. New York Governor Kathy Hochul will introduce a bill later this year that would ban smartphones from schools in the state. Hochul says that the bill is meant to protect students from “addictive algorithms,” though they will be allowed to bring in phones that don’t have internet access. The Guardian
- Departure delays. Departing FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg said he could remain in the position for months while the Biden Administration narrows down a list of mostly female candidates to replace him. Gruenberg’s resignation stems from reporting that exposed a pattern of sexual harassment and discrimination at the federal regulatory agency. The Wall Street Journal
MOVERS AND SHAKERS: Darktrace appointed Jill Popelka as chief operating officer. Playworks added Brigitte Addimando, Evelyn Barahona, and Angela Glymph-Austin to its board of directors.
ON MY RADAR
How a self-published book broke ‘all the rules’ and became a best seller New York Times
Minnesota becomes the inaugural champion of the Professional Women's Hockey League NPR
Biden's dealmaker: How Julie Su helped broker a union contract in hostile South Axios
PARTING WORDS
“I hope I can inspire both my peers and the next generation of gymnasts that age is just a number, and you can accomplish anything you work hard for.”
— Three-time Olympic Gold Medalist Gabby Douglas announcing an end to her bid for this year's Olympics due to injury
