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Trump Says Gillibrand ‘Would Do Anything’ for Campaign Donations Trump’s Combative Denials Again Draw Him Into the Sexual Harassment Debate
(about 3 hours later)
WASHINGTON — President Trump aggressively returned to the issue of sexual harassment on Tuesday, again dismissing his own accusers as fabricators and attacking a female Democratic senator as a “lightweight” who “would do anything” for campaign contributions. WASHINGTON — President Trump put himself once more at the center of the sexual harassment debate on Tuesday, repeating his contention that the women who have accused him of misconduct fabricated the allegations and describing Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, one of his leading critics, as a “lightweight” who “would do anything” for campaign contributions.
The president’s attacks came in early morning Twitter posts after three of the accusers had come forward on Monday to renew their charges from last year that Mr. Trump had sexually assaulted them before he entered politics, and after the senator, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, had called for him to resign. In derisive morning Twitter posts, the president responded to three of the women who had come forward on Monday to renew their charges from last year that Mr. Trump had sexually assaulted them before he entered politics, and to Ms. Gillibrand after she called on him to resign on Monday.
While Mr. Trump weathered the accusations during his presidential campaign, the flood of recent allegations against powerful men has revived the issue of sexual harassment with a newfound fury. By inserting himself directly into the discussion, the president ensured that calls for renewed scrutiny of the women’s allegations would gain new energy and prominence. In the closing weeks of the 2016 presidential campaign, Mr. Trump was put on the defensive by the appearance of an “Access Hollywood” tape. He was heard in the recording boasting of sexual conquests and celebrity entitlement, and the ensuing reaction led to a number of women coming forward to describe specific episodes that included walking in on them changing during beauty pageants as well as groping and kissing them. But Mr. Trump seemed to have weathered those accusations until the flood of recent allegations against powerful men revived the issue of sexual harassment with a newfound fury.
Ms. Gillibrand was quick to fire back, saying she would not be silenced by a president whose comments she described as “a sexist smear.” By responding so aggressively on Tuesday, the president ensured that calls for renewed scrutiny of the women’s allegations would gain new momentum and that Democrats, who have aggressively recruited women to run for Congress, will have a volatile new issue in the midterm elections next year.
“It was a sexist smear attempting to silence my voice, and I will not be silenced on this issue,” she said. “Neither will the women who stood up to the president yesterday,” she added. “Historically, Democrats have run against Republicans on a war on women theme,” said Christine Matthews, a Republican pollster. “The success that Democrats had using the war on women theme had started to fade away, but now there is no denying that Republicans have a problem with women right now and most of these are self inflicted. This has far-ranging consequences for 2018.”
Ms. Gillibrand first learned of the president’s Twitter post while she was attending a bipartisan Bible study on Tuesday morning, one of her aides said. The aide also said that Ms. Gillibrand had met with Mr. Trump just once in his office, several years ago, and that his daughter Ivanka was at the meeting. In addition to his criticism of Ms. Gillibrand, the president denied knowing or meeting many of his accusers, but that assertion was immediately undermined when photographs of Mr. Trump with some of the women began to appear.
Senator Mike Rounds, Republican of South Dakota who said he was with Ms. Gillibrand at Bible study when the tweet was sent, said, “I think this is simply one of those cases where it is best if we look at what the president does and not pay attention to the tweets.” Ms. Gillibrand, who said she learned of the president’s tweet while she was attending a bipartisan Bible study on Tuesday morning, was quick to fire back. “It was a sexist smear attempting to silence my voice, and I will not be silenced on this issue,” she said. “Neither will the women who stood up to the president yesterday.”
Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, later denied that Mr. Trump’s tweet contained a sexual reference, saying that he was referring to general corruption in the American political system. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, denied the suggestion that Mr. Trump’s post carried sexual overtones, saying that he was referring to general corruption in the American political system. Mr. Trump had donated at least $4,800 to Ms. Gillibrand’s campaign in the 2010 election cycle, and during the campaign, he often said that he was an expert at exploiting the political system for personal gain.
Asked whether the president would apologize to people who read the tweet as sexual innuendo, Ms. Sanders said he would not. “Only if your mind is in the gutter would you have read it that way,” she said. “Only if your mind is in the gutter would you have read” the president’s words as sexual innuendo, Ms. Sanders said at her daily briefing at the White House.
“He’s not alleging anything. He’s talking about the way that our system functions as it is,” Ms. Sanders said at a White House news conference. “That comment, frankly isn’t something new,” she added, saying that “he’s used that same terminology many times in reference to men. There’s no way that this is sexist at all.” “He’s not alleging anything. He’s talking about the way that our system functions as it is,” Ms. Sanders said. “That comment, frankly isn’t something new,” she added, saying that “he’s used that same terminology many times in reference to men. There’s no way that this is sexist at all.”
Senate Democrats, including Ms. Gillibrand, forced the resignation last week of Senator Al Franken of Minnesota, clearing away any ambiguity over their push to hold the president accountable after the claims of his accusers. About 60 Democratic women in Congress demanded an inquiry into the women’s allegations against the president, an unlikely prospect given Republican majorities in the House and Senate. Dozens of congressional Democrats, led by women, strongly disagreed and rushed to support Ms. Gillibrand. Among the more forceful was the normally reserved Senator Mazie K. Hirono, Democrat of Hawaii, who said on Twitter: “.@realDonaldTrump is a misogynist, compulsive liar, and admitted sexual predator. Attacks on Kirsten are the latest example that no one is safe from this bully. He must resign.”
Gillibrand’s Senate colleagues quickly rallied to her side. Among the more forceful was Senator Mazie K. Hirono, Democrat of Hawaii, who said on Twitter, “.@realDonaldTrump is a misogynist, compulsive liar, and admitted sexual predator. Attacks on Kirsten are the latest example that no one is safe from this bully. He must resign.” “In his tweets, whether intentionally or not, Donald Trump cues these gendered beliefs that women are less capable (or “lightweight”) and that ambition in women is something to be maligned,” Kelly Dittmar, a scholar at the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University, wrote in an email.
The president was pointed in his criticism of Ms. Gillibrand, saying she “would do anything” for campaign contributions, without providing details about what he meant. It was Senate Democratic women, including Ms. Gillibrand, who forced Senator Al Franken of Minnesota, a fellow Democrat, to announce his resignation last week, clearing away any ambiguity over their push to hold the president accountable. By Tuesday night, some 60 Democratic women in Congress had demanded an inquiry into the allegations against the president, an unlikely prospect given Republican majorities in the House and Senate but nonetheless a measure of the intensity that the issue has generated.
On Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Trump ignored a shouted question from a reporter about what he meant in his Twitter post. Ms. Matthews said Mr. Trump was following his playbook by going “full force against accusers.”
“In his tweets, whether intentionally or not, Donald Trump cues these gendered beliefs that women are less capable (or “lightweight”) and that ambition in women is something to be maligned,” said Kelly Dittmar, a scholar at the Center for Women and Politics at Rutgers University, in an emailed message. “I think he’s worse with women, but he just throws every insult that he can possibly throw,” she said. “That ‘would do anything to get elected’ is fairly ominous — it can be taken in a way that is very suggestive, and I think that is obviously horrible.”
Mr. Trump’s heated response to criticism from a member of Congress revealed yet another break with precedent from his predecessors. She said that the attacks could drain support for Republicans, particularly from white, college-educated women. The recent elections in Virginia, where 11 Democratic women defeated incumbent Republicans in legislative races, was seen in part as a referendum on Mr. Trump.
“Historically members of Congress have used mean, crude, over-the-line words to attack sitting presidents, and many presidents try to rise above and not return the fire,” said Ari Fleischer, a White House spokesman for President George W. Bush. “Donald Trump has made a conscious decision to return the fire. That’s his style and I cannot say he’s wrong to do it. It wasn’t my style. It wasn’t President Bush’s style. His instructions were to rise above it.” In his tweets, Mr. Trump blamed Democrats for resurrecting the accusations against him, saying that they were a result of Democrats being unable to prove whether his campaign had worked with the Russians to sway the election.
Christine Matthews, a Republican pollster, said Mr. Trump was following his playbook by going “full force against accusers.” “Despite thousands of hours wasted and many millions of dollars spent, the Democrats have been unable to show any collusion with Russia,” he wrote. “Now they are moving on to the false accusations and fabricated stories of women who I don’t know and/or have never met.”
“I think he’s worse with women but he just throws every insult that he can possibly throw,” she said. “That ‘would do anything to get elected’ is fairly ominous — it can be taken in a way that is very suggestive, and I think that is obviously horrible.” The special counsel’s investigation into Russia’s meddling and possible coordination with people in Mr. Trump’s circle has dominated his first year in office and will be a major factor next year as well. But now, Mr. Trump will also have to contend with more than a dozen women who have accused him of sexual misconduct in a much more charged environment than at the end of the campaign. And in some cases, his contention that he never met or knew many of the women has been refuted by photographs and videos.
She said that the political climate had changed and that there was no returning to a time when sexual harassment was tolerated. “Having a president who attacks other women for how they look or suggests that they are sexually promiscuous or liars, it’s going to hurt the party over all,” Ms. Matthews said. People magazine posted on Twitter on Tuesday a photograph of Natasha Stoynoff, one of its reporters, with Mr. Trump at his wedding to Melania Knauss in January 2005. Ms. Stoynoff has said that later that year, she interviewed the couple for an article about their first anniversary at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, where she says Mr. Trump assaulted her.
The president also blamed Democrats for the resurgence of accusations against him from women in the past, saying on Tuesday that the “fabricated stories” were a result of Democrats being unable to prove his campaign colluded with the Russians. Summer Zervos was a contestant on “The Apprentice,” Mr. Trump’s long-running reality television series, and a video exists of her on the show. She says Mr. Trump made unwanted sexual advances toward her in 2007.
The special counsel’s investigation into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election and possible coordination with people in Mr. Trump’s circle has dominated his first year in office. Two additional accusers have participated in beauty pageants that Mr. Trump ran. Temple Taggart McDowell, who represented Utah in Miss USA in 1997, told NBC News that Mr. Trump kissed her on the lips during a rehearsal dinner that year. Ninni Laaksonen, who competed for Finland in Miss Universe, said Mr. Trump groped her in 2006. There are photos of Mr. Trump with both women.
Mr. Trump’s claims that he has “never met” his accusers do not appear to be credible. He has met at least five of the more than a dozen women who have accused him of sexual misconduct. A fifth woman, Jessica Drake, an adult film actress, said Mr. Trump groped her at a golf tournament in 2006. Last year, Ms. Drake presented an undated photo of her appearing with Mr. Trump at a news conference.
Natasha Stoynoff, a reporter for People magazine, attended Mr. Trump’s wedding to Melania Knauss in January 2005. Later that year, she interviewed the couple for a story on their first anniversary at Mar-a-Lago, where she says Mr. Trump assaulted her. In a joint statement released Tuesday afternoon, four women who have accused Mr. Trump of misconduct — Lisa Boyne, Rachel Crooks, Samantha Holvey and Melinda McGillivray — criticized the president for what they described as denials “straight out of the Harvey Weinstein and Bill Cosby playbook.”
Summer Zervos was a contestant on the Apprentice, Mr. Trump’s long-running reality television show. She says Mr. Trump made unwanted sexual advances toward her in 2007. “The best way for Americans to know the truth about our claims, and those made by other women abused by President Trump, is an independent investigation by Congress, the Department of Justice or another credible party,” the women wrote. “If President Trump is so confident about his claims, he should also support a move to investigate and air the facts.”
Two of Mr. Trump’s accusers have participated in beauty pageants he ran. Temple McDowell, who represented Utah in Miss USA 1997, told NBC News that Mr. Trump kissed her on the lips during a rehearsal dinner that year. Ninni Laaksonen, who competed in Miss Universe as Miss Finland, said Mr. Trump groped her in 2006. There are photos of Mr. Trump with both women.
A fifth woman, Jessica Drake, an adult film actress, said Mr. Trump groped her at a golf tournament in 2006. Ms. Drake presented an undated photo of her appearing with Mr. Trump in a news conference last year.
The president chose to weigh in on the politically charged issue of harassment on the day that voters in Alabama were deciding whether to elect the Republican, Roy S. Moore. At least six women in the state have said Mr. Moore had inappropriate contact with them when they were teenagers.
His opponent, Doug Jones, a Democrat, has repeatedly highlighted those women’s accusations in the campaign, and the election is a test of whether Republican women, in particular, find those allegations credible.
The president also sent a tweet urging Alabamians to vote for Mr. Moore, deriding Mr. Jones as a “puppet” of the Democratic leaders in Congress, Senator Chuck Schumer of New York and Representative Nancy Pelosi.
During the presidential campaign, several women accused Mr. Trump of sexual harassment or groping. On Monday, several women spoke in Manhattan to retell their experiences, saying they hoped that recent accusations against other powerful figures would prompt their stories to be taken more seriously.
The recent spate of accusations against leading men in government and the media, including Harvey Weinstein, Bill O’Reilly, Representative John Conyers and Mr. Franken, has fueled a public discussion of sexual harassment.
In his resignation speech, Mr. Franken said he found it ironic that he would leave office while the president had bragged on tape about sexually assaulting women.
Mr. Franken was referring to a 2005 recording of Mr. Trump while filming a segment for Access Hollywood in which he boasted about how he could treat women however he wanted because he was famous, including kissing them and grabbing their genitals. The recording emerged about a month before the 2016 election.
Ms. Gillibrand was the first Democratic senator to publicly say that Mr. Franken should resign, and she has been a leading voice on Capitol Hill against sexual harassment of women.