United States President Donald Trump on Friday denied allegations of sexual assault and rape raised by magazine advice columnist E Jean Carroll in her forthcoming book.
An excerpt of Carroll’s book What Do We Need Men For? A Modest Proposal was published in New York Magazine on Friday. Carroll does not name Trump in the text, but the headline reads: “Hideous Men: Donald Trump assaulted me in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room 23 years ago. But he’s not alone on the list of awful men in my life.”
Trump denied the allegations, saying he had “never met this person”, reported CNN. The excerpt, however, published in the magazine includes a photo of Trump and Carroll taken at a party in 1987. The president also accused Carroll of sharing her account to raise book sales, comparing her to women who “falsely accused” Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
“Shame on those who make up false stories of assault to try to get publicity for themselves, or sell a book, or carry out a political agenda – like Julie Swetnick who falsely accused Justice Brett Kavanaugh,” Trump said. “It’s just as bad for people to believe it, particularly when there is zero evidence. Worse still for a dying publication to try to prop itself up by peddling fake news – it’s an epidemic.”
Trump encouraged anyone with “information that the Democratic Party is working with Ms Carroll or New York Magazine” to notify the White House, BBC reported.
In the excerpt, Carroll claimed that she met “one of New York’s most famous men”, a purported reference to Trump, at the Bergdorf Goodman department store in 1995 or 1996 where she says he attacked her in one of the dressing rooms. Carroll claimed Trump had sought her advice to buy a gift and alleged that Trump pressured her to try on lingerie and grabbed her arm to pull her towards the dressing room.
“The moment the dressing-room door is closed, he lunges at me, pushes me against the wall, hitting my head quite badly, and puts his mouth against my lips,” Carroll said. “I am so shocked I shove him back and start laughing again. He seizes both my arms and pushes me up against the wall a second time, and, as I become aware of how large he is, he holds me against the wall with his shoulder and jams his hand under my coat dress and pulls down my tights.” Carroll alleged that Trump then forced himself on her in the dressing room.
Several women have accused Donald Trump of sexual misconduct, which he has repeatedly denied. In October 2016, a tape was leaked of Trump talking to NBC’s Today Show co-host, Billy Bush, about kissing, groping and attempting to have sex with women. He had said, “When you’re a star, they let you do it.” Trump later issued an apology, but also appeared to defend his remarks, calling it just “locker room banter”.
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