Trump suggests women speaking out are too ugly for him to sexually assault
Under fire, Trump retreats further into the gutter.
On Wednesday evening, numerous women stepped forward to accuse Donald Trump of sexual assault. As ThinkProgress previously documented, the allegations track closely with Trump’s description of how he treats women in a secretly recorded 2005 video released last Friday.
“You know I’m automatically attracted to beautiful… I just start kissing them,” Trump said in the video. “It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star they let you do it. You can do anything.” (The most infamous line from the video comes a bit later, when Trump says, “Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything.”)
During a speech in Florida on Thursday, Trump denied the allegations and smeared his accusers. Part of his defense involved suggesting the women aren’t sufficiently attractive for him to sexually assault by imploring listeners to “take a look” at them.
“These events never, ever happened, and the people that said them, meekly, fully understand,” Trump said. “You take a look at these people, you study these people, and you’ll understand also.”
If that was too subtle, Trump was more direct when talking about former People writer Natasha Stoynoff. In a piece published last night, Stoynoff alleges she was assaulted by Trump in December 2005 — the same year Trump made the “just kiss” comments caught on tape — while working on a profile of Trump and his wife Melania pegged to their first anniversary.
From her piece:
Our photo team shot the Trumps on the lush grounds of their Florida estate, and I interviewed them about how happy their first year of marriage had been. When we took a break for the then-very-pregnant Melania to go upstairs and change wardrobe for more photos, Donald wanted to show me around the mansion. There was one “tremendous” room in particular, he said, that I just had to see…
We walked into that room alone, and Trump shut the door behind us. I turned around, and within seconds he was pushing me against the wall and forcing his tongue down my throat.
During his speech, Trump questioned why Stoynoff waited more than a decade before going public with her story — she says she was triggered by hearing Trump categorically deny he’s ever sexually assaulted anyone during the second presidential debate — and then went after her looks.
“Take a look. You take a look,” Trump said. “Look at her, look at her words, you tell me what you think. I don’t think so.”
As Trump’s speech was unfolding, former Breitbart reporter Michelle Fields suggested part of Trump’s strategy in going hard after his accusers might be to discourage other women who are thinking about coming forward from doing so.
Last night, Washington Post political reporter Robert Costa tweeted, “Based on my reporting, Trump orbit on edge about possible coming wave of allegations.”