Donald Trump attacks accusers, blames Democrats for womens' allegations

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This was published 6 years ago

Donald Trump attacks accusers, blames Democrats for womens' allegations

By Michael Tackett and Eileen Sullivan
Updated

Washington: President Donald Trump forcefully entered the national debate about sexual harassment Tuesday, again dismissing his own accusers as fabricating their stories and saying that a prominent Democratic senator, a woman, "would do anything" for campaign contributions and calling her a "lightweight."

The president's attacks came in early morning Twitter posts after several of the accusers had come forward on Monday to renew their charges that Trump had sexually assaulted them before he was president. His Twitter attack also came after the senator, Kirsten Gillibrand, had called for him to resign.

By inserting himself directly into the discussion, the president ensured that calls for revived scrutiny over the women's allegations would gain new energy and prominence.

Gillibrand was quick to fire back, saying she would not be silenced by a president whose comments she described as "a sexist smear."

President Donald Trump accusing his accusers.

President Donald Trump accusing his accusers.Credit: Evan Vucci

"It was a sexist smear attempting to silence my voice, and I will not be silenced on this issue," she said. "Neither will the women who stood up to the president yesterday," she added, referring to three accusers who spoke in New York City on Monday about their experiences.

Gillibrand first learned of the president's Twitter post while she was attending a bipartisan Bible study Tuesday morning, one of her aides said. The aide also said that Gillibrand had met with Trump just once in his office, several years ago, and that his daughter Ivanka was at the meeting.

Senate Democrats, including Gillibrand, forced the resignation last week of Senator Al Franken, clearing away any ambiguity over their push to hold the president accountable after the claims of his accusers.

The president was pointed in his criticism of Gillibrand, saying she "would do anything" for campaign contributions, without providing details about what he meant.

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Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand

Democratic Senator Kirsten GillibrandCredit: JACQUELYN MARTIN

On Tuesday afternoon, Trump ignored a shouted question from a reporter about what he meant in his Twitter post.

Gillibrand said she would not be silenced -- and nor would the millions of women who do not approve of his presidency. "You cannot silence me or the millions of women who have gotten off the sidelines to speak out about the unfitness and shame you have brought to the Oval Office," she wrote.

Some of Trump's accusers. Rachel Crooks, left, Jessica Leeds, centre, and Samantha Holvey attend a news conference in New York.

Some of Trump's accusers. Rachel Crooks, left, Jessica Leeds, centre, and Samantha Holvey attend a news conference in New York.Credit: MARK LENNIHAN

"In his tweets, whether intentionally or not, Donald Trump cues these gendered beliefs that women are less capable (or 'lightweight') and that ambition in women is something to be maligned," said Kelly Dittmar, a scholar at the Centre for Women and Politics at Rutgers University, in an emailed message.

Trump's heated response to criticism from a member of Congress revealed yet another break with precedent from his predecessors.

"Historically members of Congress have used mean, crude, over-the-line words to attack sitting presidents, and many presidents try to rise above and not return the fire," said Ari Fleischer, the White House spokesman for President George W. Bush. "Donald Trump has made a conscious decision to return the fire. That's his style and I cannot say he's wrong to do it. It wasn't my style. It wasn't President Bush's style. His instructions were to rise above it."

Christine Matthews, a Republican pollster, said Trump was following his playbook by going "full force against accusers."

"I think he's worse with women but he just throws every insult that he can possibly throw," she said. "That 'would do anything to get elected' is fairly ominous -- it can be taken in a way that is very suggestive, and I think that is obviously horrible."

She said that the political climate had changed and that there was no returning to a time when sexual harassment was tolerated. "Having a president who attacks other women for how they look or suggests that they are sexually promiscuous or liars, it's going to hurt the party overall," Matthews said.

The president also blamed Democrats for the resurgence of accusations against him from women in the past, saying Tuesday that the "fabricated stories" were a result of Democrats being unable to prove his campaign colluded with the Russians.

The special counsel's investigation into Russia's meddling in the 2016 election and possible coordination with people in Trump's circle has dominated his first year in office.

Trump's claims that he has "never met" his accusers do not appear to be credible. He has met at least five of the more than a dozen women who have accused him of sexual misconduct.

Natasha Stoynoff, a reporter for People magazine, attended Trump's wedding to Melania Knauss in January 2005. Later that year, she interviewed the couple for a story on their first anniversary at Mar-a-Lago, where she says Trump assaulted her.

Summer Zervos was a contestant on "The Apprentice," Trump's long-running reality television show. She says Trump made unwanted sexual advances toward her in 2007.

Two of Trump's accusers have participated in beauty pageants he ran. Temple McDowell, who represented Utah in Miss USA 1997, told NBC News that Trump kissed her on the lips during a rehearsal dinner that year. Ninni Laaksonen, who competed in Miss Universe as Miss Finland, said Trump groped her in 2006. There are photos of Trump with both women.

A fifth woman, Jessica Drake, an adult film actress, said Trump groped her at a golf tournament in 2006. Drake presented an undated photo of her appearing with Trump in a news conference last year.

The president chose to weigh in on the politically charged issue of harassment on the day that voters in Alabama were deciding whether to elect the Republican, Roy Moore. At least six women in the state have said Moore had inappropriate contact with them when they were teenagers.

His opponent, Doug Jones, a Democrat, has repeatedly highlighted those women's accusations in the campaign, and the election is a test of whether Republican women, in particular, find those allegations credible.

The president also sent a tweet urging Alabamians to vote for Moore, deriding Jones as a "puppet" of the Democratic leaders in Congress, Senator Chuck Schumer of New York and Representative Nancy Pelosi of California.

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During the presidential campaign, several women accused Trump of sexual harassment or groping. On Monday, three women held a news conference in New York City to retell their experiences, saying they hoped that recent accusations against other powerful figures would prompt their stories to be taken more seriously.

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