US President Donald Trump has denied writer E. Jean Carroll’s allegation of rape, which she claims happened 23 years ago in the dressing room of Bergdorf Goodman in New York. Responding to the allegations, which were published in New York Magazine, Trump said that the ELLE advice collumnist is not his type and that he had “never met this person in my life,” despite a picture of the two from 1987 being included in the story.
Yesterday, expanding on his initial statement, Trump told The Hill that Carroll is not his type - “I’ll say it with great respect. Number one, she’s not my type. Number two, it never happened. It never happened, okay?”.
Saying someone isn't your type is an absurd way to deny a rape allegation, but surprisingly - or maybe not so - it's not the first time Trump has used the defense. The Cut points out that in 2016, after a woman named Jessica Leeds alleged Trump groped her on a flight in the early 1980s, he responded with, “Believe me, she would not be my first choice, that I can tell you. That would not be my first choice.” That same month, after being accused of forcibly kissing People journalist Natasha Stoynoff in 2015, Trump responded with, “Take a look at her … I don’t think so.” The Washington Post also reported that Trump used a similar excuse when faced with the 2018 allegations of an affair with Stormy Daniels.
In the initial NY Magazine piece, Carroll alleges Trump lunged at her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room and proceeded to push her against the wall.
"The moment the dressing-room door is closed, he lunges at me, pushes me against the wall, hitting my head quite badly, and puts his mouth against my lips," she writes.
"I am so shocked I shove him back and start laughing again. He seizes both my arms and pushes me up against the wall a second time, and, as I become aware of how large he is, he holds me against the wall with his shoulder and jams his hand under my coat dress and pulls down my tights."
She continues, "The next moment, still wearing correct business attire, shirt, tie, suit jacket, overcoat, he opens the overcoat, unzips his pants, and, forcing his fingers around my private area, thrusts his penis halfway — or completely, I’m not certain — inside me."
Trump, who has denied the allegations, has now been accused of sexual misconduct by more than 20 women.
Read Carroll's full account here.
