Trump Sexual Misconduct Accusers Speak Out: ‘Where Do We Draw the Line?’
Megyn Kelly sat down with three women Monday who previously accused President Trump of sexual misconduct during the 2016 election cycle: Jessica Leeds, Samantha Holvey and Rachel Cooks.
The Megyn Kelly Today host kicked off the segment by pointing to the current “Me Too” moment, noting that in recent months, dozens of men in power have been taken to task for their inappropriate behavior.
“Men … are being outed and punished for sometimes decades of sexual misconduct,” she said. “But does that accountability extend to the Oval Office?”
The three women then recalled their respective encounters with Trump, whose headline-making behavior resurfaced recently following his steadfast support of Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore, a Republican accused of sexually assaulting teenage girls while in his 30s.
“It was heartbreaking last year,” Holvey said of watching Trump sworn into office this past January. “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.”
Holvey previously accused Trump of walking into dressing rooms during the Miss USA pageant in 2006 to ogle contestants, including herself.
“It was not … It was, ‘Hi,’ just looking me over like I was just a piece of meat,” she said Monday. “I was not a human being. I didn’t have a brain, I didn’t have a personality. I was just simply there for his pleasure. It left me feeling very gross, very dirty.”
Leeds, who was flying to New York City more than 30 years ago when she and Trump crossed paths, recalled how the real estate mogul had groped her and forcibly kissed her while the pair sat next to each other in first class.
“All of a sudden, he’s all over me. Kissing and groping, groping and kissing,” she said of the moment. “It was just this silent groping going on.” Leeds said that she immediately got up from her seat and went to the back of the plane for the remainder of the flight after Trump tried to put his hand up her skirt.
“I didn’t tell anyone then,” she said. “I just thought, ‘That’s some creep on the airplane.'”
Cooks was a receptionist at the Trump Tower when she had her own encounter with the future POTUS in 2005. According to Cooks, Trump kissed her on the mouth repeatedly and asked for her number, which prompted her to call her sister and tell her, “I don’t know what just happened but I felt terrible.”
Cooks pointed out that many people have questioned the authenticity of her story, asking for security footage of the alleged moment.
“Yes, where is that?” she said Monday. “Let’s get that out because I would love for that to be made public. He owns the building, I doubt that’s going to happen, but I’d be more than happy to let that surface.”
In a statement in response to the accusations, the White House said the “timing and absurdity of these false claims speaks volumes,” pointing out that the American people “voiced their judgment” by electing Trump into office last November.
The women’s interview with Kelly came just hours before a scheduled news conference in which they plan to demand that Congress investigate their claims.