Trigger Warning: this article contains discussion of sexual abuse.
Over the past four decades many women have come forward, both on and off the record, to accuse Donald Trump of sexual misconduct, inappropriate touching, sexual harassment, unwanted advances, and rape. These are the stories of 31 of those women.
1985 - Jessica Leeds (38): Leeds had been flying from the Midwest to New York when a flight attendant offered to upgrade her seat to first class. She sat next to Donald Trump, who asked her if she was married. She told him she was divorced. When their food was taken away Leeds said Trump assaulted her, grabbing her breasts and trying to put his hand up her skirt. "His hands were everywhere. It was an assault."
1989 - Ivana Trump (40): Trump physically and sexually assaulted Ivana in a fit of rage, ripping hair from her scalp. She confided with friends that he had raped her, but would later recant her statement in Harry Hurt III's book Lost Tycoon: The Many Lives of Donald Trump.
Early 1990s - Kristin Anderson (~20): Anderson, an aspiring model, said Trump groped her underneath her skirt, touching her through her underwear at the China Club in New York City.
1992 - Jill Harth (22): During a dinner with Donald Trump and her longtime boyfriend, Harth, a makeup artist, said she felt Trump's hands reaching up her skirt to touch her crotch. She escaped to the bathroom. A year later he invited the pair to Mar-a-Lago to sign a contract and gave Harth a tour of his daughter Ivanka's bedroom. "Next thing I know he's pushing me against the wall and has his hands all over me. He was trying to kiss me. I was freaking out." She said no, and ran out of the room. She didn't report, and continued to meet Trump for business. He would try to get her to lie down "and it would turn into a wrestling match. I remember yelling 'I didn't come here for this.' He'd say, 'Just calm down.'"
“It would turn into a wrestling match. I remember yelling 'I didn't come here for this.' He'd say, ‘Just calm down.’” - Jill Harth
The interactions continued and Harth taught herself to vomit as a defense mechanism, to keep him from raping her. She eventually filed a sexual harassment lawsuit, which included attempted rape, but withdrew the suit as a "condition for settling a contract dispute" with Trump.
1993 - Beatrice Keul (22): Trump "jumped" Keul, runner-up Miss Switzerland, first inviting her up to a suite in the Plaza Hotel for a "private meeting," then kissing her on the lips and neck and trying to lift her dress. "He was grabbing and touching my body everywhere he could."
1993 - Stacy Williams (25): Former Sports Illustrated model Stacy Williams said Trump groped her in Trump Tower while Jeffrey Epstein looked on. He put his hands "all over my breasts" as well as her waist and butt. Trump later sent her a Mar-a-Lago postcard with the words "Stacey, Your home away from home. Love Donald."
1994 - Katie Johnson/Jane Doe (13): Both Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein were accused of forcibly raping the young girl, an aspiring model, at four different sex parties in Epstein's home.
"I loudly pleaded with [Trump] to stop, but he did not. [Trump] responded to my pleas by violently striking me in the face with his open hand and screaming that he would do whatever he wanted." - Jane Doe
The woman came forward in 2016 with a federal lawsuit, but later dropped the suit due to threats.
1996 - E. Jean Carroll (52): Trump sexually assaulted Carroll in the dressing room at Bergdorf Goodman, a New York department store, forcibly kissing her and pulling down her tights before raping her. She escaped and immediately called her friend, Lisa Birnbach to report the incident. "I said 'Jean, he raped you. You should go to the police.' She said, 'No, no. I don't want to go to the police.'" Carroll filed a defamation lawsuit in 2019, claiming Trump had damaged her reputation and caused emotional pain.
"Decades ago, the now President of the United States raped me. When I had the courage to speak out about the attack, he defamed my character, accused me of lying for personal gain, even insulted my appearance. No woman should have to face this." - E. Jean Carroll
A judge and jury agreed with Carroll, awarding her a total of $88.3 million and finding Trump had committed sexual abuse.
1997 - Amy Dorris (24): Former model Amy Dorris said Trump groped and kissed her at the U.S. Open, forcing his tongue down her throat and ignoring her pleas to stop. "His hands were very gropey and all over my butt, my breasts, my back, everything. I felt trapped. I was trying to get his arms off of me...I wasn't strong enough."
1997 - Cathy Heller (44): Heller was attending a Mother's Day brunch with her extended family, including her husband and three children, when she said Donald Trump came by their table. Without asking, he leaned in to kiss her. "He took my hand, and grabbed me, and went for the lips." She leaned backward, almost losing her balance. "Oh come on," he said, kissing her. "He kept me there for a little too long, and then he just walked away." A relative noticed. "He was very forceful...very aggressive toward her."
1997 - Mariah Billado (and 4 others) (15-18): During her time in the Miss Teen USA pageant, Billado claimed that Trump would walk through the dressing rooms while she and the other girls, as young as 15 years-old, were undressed. "I remember putting on my dress really quick, because I was like, 'Oh my god, there's a man in here.'" Trump said, "Don't worry ladies, I've seen it all before."
1997 - Temple Taggart McDowell (21): While at a Miss USA pageant in Shreveport, LA, McDowell was introduced to Donald Trump by her father, who was a fan. Trump allegedly leaned in and gave the woman a long and passionate kiss. "I remember feeling kind of embarrassed, like wanting to turn and wipe my mouth, like, 'What happened?'" Her chaperone was so uncomfortable that she told McDowell not to be alone with Trump.
1998 - Karena Virginia (27): Virginia was waiting for a car service when Donald Trump approached her. "Hey, look at this one, we haven't seen her before. Look at those legs." She says he reached up and grabbed her arm, then her breast. When she flinched he said, "Don't you know who I am?" She quickly got into a car and drove away.
Early 2000s - Karen Johnson (?): Johnson, a former dancer, was on the way to the bathroom at a Mar-a-Lago New Year's Eve party with her husband, when she says she was grabbed by Trump and pulled behind a tapestry, where he groped and forcibly kissed her, grabbing her genitals. He left messages on her phone for days after.
"I was so scared because of who he was. I don't even know where it came from. I didn't have a say in the matter." - Karen Johnson
2000 - Bridget Sullivan (19): The former Miss USA contestant was in a backstage dressing room at a pageant when Trump walked in unannounced. "The time that he walked through the dressing rooms was really shocking. We were all naked." Prior to the incident Sullivan had had misgivings about Trump after meeting him at a party in New York. "He'd hug you just a little low on your back, and give you a squeeze that your creepy uncle would."
2001 - Unnamed Miss USA contestants - Two more contestants claimed Donald Trump walked in on them while they were naked backstage, getting dressed for a rehearsal. Just before he barged in, one woman heard the security guard outside say that the women were undressing.
"Mr. Trump just barged right in, didn't say anything, stood there and stared at us. He didn't walk in and say, 'Oh, I'm so sorry, I was looking for someone.' He walked in, he stood and he stared. He was doing it because he knew that he could." - Anonymous Miss USA Contestant
2001 - Tasha Dixon (18): Former Miss Arizona, Dixon also stated that Trump would come in their dressing rooms when they were "half-naked," and that the women were told to "fawn all over him." She said it was their introduction to the owner of the pageant. "Who do you complain to? He owns the pageant. There's no one there to complain to. Everyone works for him."
2003 - Mindy McGillivray (23): McGillivray was attending a Ray Charles concert at Mar-a-Lago with a friend when she said she felt someone in the crowd grab her bottom. She thought it was her friend's camera bag that might've been pushed up against her, but when she turned around it was Donald Trump. "He said nothing. He knew what he did. I could see it in his face, the look of guilt." When he walked away she turned to her friend. "I said, 'Donald just grabbed my caboose.'
2005 - Natasha Stoynoff (?): Stoynoff, a journalist at People Magazine, had gone to Mar-a-Lago to interview Donald and Melania Trump for a story about their first wedding anniversary. But when Melania went upstairs, Stoynoff says, Trump pushed her, forcibly kissing her. "Trump is much bigger [than me] - a looming figure - and he was fast, taking me by surprise and throwing me off balance. I was stunned." The butler walked in, eyeing the situation and informing them that Melania was on her way down. Trump looked at her. "You know we're going to have an affair, don't you?" Stoynoff told her editors she would never do a story about Donald Trump again.
2005 - Rachel Crooks (22): Crooks, a receptionist at a real estate investment firm in Trump Tower, encountered Donald Trump in an elevator one morning. She says she turned to introduce herself, and he leaned in and kissed her on the mouth.
"It was so inappropriate. I was so upset that he thought I was so insignificant that he could do that." - Rachel Crooks
She returned to her desk and called her sister, who was quite shaken. "Are you sure he didn't just miss trying to kiss you on the cheek?" "No," Crooks said, "he kissed me on the mouth. That is not normal." Days later he requested her phone number, to "pass along to his modeling agency." She spent the rest of her time there avoiding him.
2006 - Jessica Drake (32): Drake, an adult film actress and sex education advocate, was attending a charity golf tournament at Lake Tahoe when Trump invited her up to his hotel suite. She felt uncomfortable and brought along two friends. While there, she claims, Trump hugged and kissed all three women "without asking permission." Later Drake received a phone call asking her to come back to the suite for $10,000 and a ride on his jet back to Los Angeles. She declined.
2006 - Ninni Laaksonen (20): Laaksonen, Miss Finland 2006, had appeared with Donald Trump on the Late Show with David Letterman. Just before going on stage, she says, he reached back and grabbed her bottom. "He really grabbed my butt. I don't think anybody saw it but I flinch and thought; 'what is happening?'" Someone mentioned later that Trump "liked her because she looked like his wife, Melania, when she was younger."
2010 - Anonymous friend of CNN anchor Erin Burnett (?): The woman met Trump in a boardroom in Trump Tower.
"Trump took Tic Tacs, and suggested I take them also. He then leaned in, catching me off guard, and kissed me almost on the lips. I was really freaked out. ... After (the meeting) Trump asked me to come into his office alone. I was really unsure what to do. ... Figured I could handle myself. Anyway, once in his office he kept telling me how special I am and gave me his cell, asked me to call him. I ran the hell out of there." - Anonymous Trump Accuser
2011 - Summer Zervos (37): Zervos, a contestant on the 5th season of The Apprentice, contacted Donald Trump about a job after the show wrapped. He invited her to meet him at the Beverly Hills Hotel. During the meeting, she says, he began kissing her with an open mouth, grabbing her breasts, and rubbing his penis on her. She tried to confront him about it, giving him an opportunity to "clear the air," and stating how hurt she had been by his actions. He called her a liar. So in 2017 she filed a defamation lawsuit against him, which moved forward until 2021. Then she withdrew from the case without compensation.
2013 - Cassandra Searles (24): Searles, 2013 Miss Washington USA, says she was invited by Donald Trump up to his hotel room. She said no, but he grabbed her bottom and kept asking. "He probably doesn't want me telling the story about the time he continually grabbed my ass and invited me to his hotel room."
2016 - Alva Johnson (?): Johnson, a former Trump campaign staffer for the 2016 election, was helping him meet with volunteers and sign autographs inside an RV in Florida. When she urged him to "go in there and 'kick ass,’” she says he grabbed her hand and tried to kiss her on the lips. When she turned her head, he leaned in more and kissed the side of her mouth. This was witnessed by then-Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi and then-State Director Karen Giorno, she says, as well as three regional directors. Johnson filed a lawsuit in 2019, but dropped the suit a few months later because she was "facing a judge who openly questions whether the kiss is worthy of a federal lawsuit and has determined that Mr. Trump's history of such behavior is not relevant, and I've endured ongoing threats to my safety."
On October 22, 2019 Barry Levine published his book All the President's Women: Donald Trump and the Making of a Predator, in which he claimed that (at that time) 43 women had come forward to accuse Donald Trump of sexual misconduct "dating back to his childhood and high school days through his rise in real estate, reality TV, and politics."
Ellie is an author, editor, and owner of Red Pencil Transcripts, and works with filmmakers, podcasts, and journalists all over the world. She lives with her family just outside of New York City.
“This, THIS is NOT normal.” In your piece: that thought kept recirculating in the back of my mind while I read one encounter and assault after the next, for what seemed like an eternity that might have passed as bad fiction if it were spread over many women and many predators over many years. But it isn’t. It’s one man, a very sick predator who society would and should never attempt to rehabilitate, but rather remove to prison forever until death visits him.
It’s dehumanizing in the extreme, and that’s the least wrong part about it. It’s not a story about a man with poor impulse control, even though it’s terrifying to think that this is the old, decrepit, disgusting president of US. He’s not someone who should be excused, nor his followers pardoned, nor men and women who enabled this piece of excrement (and there were many, of both genders) over the years be forgotten. The sheer uphill battle each of these victims faced just “because he is who he is” was outrageously unfair.
Your writing is structurally brilliant, because it’s not laden with condemnation or words of analysis. It leaves that to the reader, which is the most clever and thoughtful move I think you could have made. “Judge for yourself,” you seem to say. And wow, did I *ever*. Thanks, Ellie, again for a great piece!
With all of these women that have come forward, how many have had an encounter and were too afraid to or embarrassed to confess.