The national #MeToo spotlight is turning back to US president Donald Trump and his past conduct. Three women, who last year accused him of sexual misconduct, reinvigorated their stories this week with an appearance on Megyn Kelly’s NBC show.
During the show, Samantha Holvey, Rachel Crooks and Jessica Leeds recalled separate instances in which they say Trump sexually harassed and forcibly kissed and groped them before he became president.
"It was heartbreaking last year. We're private citizens and for us to put ourselves out there to try and show America who this man is and how he views women, and for them to say, 'Eh, we don't care,' it hurt," Samantha Holvey said on Monday. The former beauty queen claimed that Trump ogled her and other Miss USA pageant contestants in their dressing room in 2006.
Rachel Crooks, a former Trump Tower receptionist who said the celebrity businessman kissed her on the mouth in 2006 without consent, called for Congress to "put aside party affiliations and investigate Trump's history of sexual misconduct."
Jessica Leeds, who appeared at Monday's news conference, recalled sitting on an airplane next to Trump in the 1970s when he began to fondle her. "All of a sudden, he's all over me. Kissing and groping, groping and kissing," she said. "Nothing was said. It was just this silent groping going on."
WHITE HOUSE DENIES ALLEGATIONS
Meanwhile, the White House has denied allegations of sexual misconduct against the US president by saying that it took place long before 2016 elections. A number of Democratic lawmakers are also demanding Trump's resignation.
"The false claims, totally disputed in most cases by eyewitness accounts, were addressed at length during last year's campaign, and the American people voiced their judgment by delivering a decisive victory," the White House said in a statement. "The timing and absurdity of these false claims speaks volumes and the publicity tour that has begun only further confirms the political motives behind them."
