Before the White House, Trump faced an array of sexual misconduct accusations. As president, he faces another
Corrections and clarifications: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated where the alleged assault occurred. The excerpt said it happened in a dressing room.
WASHINGTON – The accusations poured in one after another.
One woman described Donald Trump forcibly kissing her when she tried to get a job at the Trump Organization. Another said he put his hands under her skirt in a Manhattan nightclub. Others said he groped their breasts, attacked them or watched them change in a dressing room. At least 15 shared similar stories, claiming sexual misconduct by the former real estate tycoon.
Trump denied and fended off the accusations, which came in the aftermath of an "Access Hollywood" tape recorded in 2005 on which he made vulgar comments about groping women.
That tape was released in October 2016, one month before he won the presidency.
After 2½ years in the White House, Trump is fighting a new allegation, lodged by longtime advice columnist E. Jean Carroll. She wrote in a forthcoming book, "What Do We Need Men For? A Modest Proposal," that Trump forced himself on her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room more than 20 years ago. An excerpt from the book was published by New York Magazine and included a photo of Carroll wearing the coat she said she wore the day of the attack.
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As Democratic challengers to his presidency campaign for the 2020 election, Trump portrayed Carroll as someone whose only motivation is to sell books.
"I have no idea who this woman is," Trump said as he left the White House on Saturday for Camp David. "It is a totally false accusation." The president alleged Carroll made a habit of accusing men of misdeeds and said "people have to be careful" because "it's happening more and more."
He downplayed a photo included in the New York Magazine story of Carroll with Trump, saying his back was to the camera and he was with his wife. "Give me a break," he said, repeating that he did not know Carroll.
Carroll wrote in the excerpt that she ran into Trump while shopping at the elegant New York City department store in the mid-1990s. She said she greeted him as "that real-estate tycoon," and he greeted her as "that advice lady."
He was looking to buy a present for a "girl" and asked for Carroll's help, she wrote. She pointed out handbags and hats, but Trump pointed out lingerie and asked Carroll to try on a piece, she said. Once inside the dressing room, Carroll claimed, Trump forced himself on her.
"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 wrote. "He holds me against the wall with his shoulder and jams his hand under my coat dress and pulls down my tights."
Carroll claimed Trump "opens the overcoat, unzips his pants, and, forcing his fingers around my private area, thrusts his penis halfway – or completely, I’m not certain – inside me." The episode lasted no longer than three minutes, Carroll said. It was the last time she had sex, she wrote.
The incident was not reported to the police, and Carroll said she told only two close friends, whose names were not made public in the story. One told her to go to the police. The other told her to forget about it, she wrote.
"She is trying to sell a new book – that should indicate her motivation. It should be sold in the fiction section," Trump said in a statement Friday. "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."
He pointed out that the department store had no footage of the incident or the pair in the store together and said there was no proof of an assault.
New York Magazine, along with other outlets, including The New York Times, talked with the two friends, who verified that Carroll told them her account. Both said they did not want their names publicized for fear of threats.
Carroll could not be reached by USA TODAY on Saturday.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Before the White House, Trump faced an array of sexual misconduct accusations. As president, he faces another
