Trump mocks sexual assault accuser: "She would not have been the chosen one"
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Days before his debate against Vice President Kamala Harris, former President Trump held a rambling news conference in which he recounted, denied and mocked various sexual harassment allegations against him.
The big picture: With less than two months until Election Day, some Republicans fear that Trump's public appearances are growing more erratic and less focused on prosecuting the policy case against Harris.
Zoom in: Trump spoke Friday after attending an appeals hearing in Manhattan over a sexual abuse case brought by writer E. Jean Carroll, where his lawyers argued for a new trial on the basis of inadmissible evidence.
- A jury last year found Trump liable for defaming and sexually abusing Carroll, awarding her $5 million in damages.
- In their appeal, Trump's lawyers pointed in part to testimony from a woman named Jessica Leeds, who told the jury that Trump molested her on an airplane in the late 1970s.
- Trump continues to deny all sexual assault allegations against him, and Carroll's lawyer has left the door open to filing a new defamation claim.
What they're saying: After repeatedly accusing Carroll of lying about her alleged encounter with Trump in a New York department store in 1996, the former president began detailing the allegations by Leeds.
- "She said I was making out with her. And then, after 15 minutes — and she changed her story a couple times, maybe it was quicker — then I grabbed her at a certain part and that's when she had enough," Trump told reporters as his lawyers looked on.
- "Think of the practicality of this: I'm famous, I'm in a plane, people are coming into the plane. And I'm looking at a woman, and I grab her and start kissing her and making out with her. What are the chances of that happening?"
Trump then added: "And frankly — I know you're going to say it's a terrible thing to say — but it couldn't have happened, it didn't happen, and she would not have been the chosen one. She would not have been the chosen one."
Flashback: Trump has used this type of incendiary language in the past to deny sexual assault allegations, claiming in 2019 after Carroll went public with her allegations that she was "not my type."
- Trump's 2016 presidential campaign was famously rocked by a leaked tape from the set of "Access Hollywood," where he bragged about kissing and groping women without their consent.
- "[W]hen you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab 'em by the p*ssy," Trump said. "You can do anything."
The bottom line: For 45 minutes on Friday, Trump lashed out at his accusers, complained about his legal representation and scarcely mentioned the presidential race. He did not take any questions.
