It was 1995 or 1996, E. Jean Carroll says, when she met Donald Trump inside the iconic New York City department store Bergdorf-Goodman. He was a real-estate magnate, she was a popular columnist. They had not met before but both recognized each other.
A New York magazine article detailed what she says happened, which the magazine calls “violent.”
Trump shoves her against a wall inside a dressing room, pulls down her tights, and, “forcing his fingers around my private area, thrusts his penis halfway — or completely, I’m not certain — inside me.”
Carroll is now suing Trump, and as part of the lawsuit is demanding he deliver his DNA for testing.
Occasionally, she will again accuse the President of rape, as she did Tuesday in response to his tweet bashing what is becoming a movement to “defund” the police.
Here’s what Trump said Tuesday morning:
Here is Carroll’s response:
Multiple women have accused Trump of rape, sexual assault, or other sexual misconduct. The number of reports vary, but the fact that the number is massive does not.
A 2017 HuffPost article lists 24 women.
In 2019 The Independent reported on a new book that lists “another 26 incidents of ‘unwanted sexual contact’ and 43 instances of inappropriate behaviour,” adding to “a list of nearly two dozen women who had previously accused him of sexual assault or misconduct.”
A CNN piece from 2016, before the election (updated last year with a correction), detailed accounts of 15 women.
Last month Business Insider listed 25 women “who have accused Trump of sexual misconduct.”