A look at the sexual misconduct allegations against Donald Trump and Bill Clinton
When Donald Trump apologized for saying in 2005 that he could grope women because of his celebrity, he immediately pointed to Bill Clinton as having done worse. Trump appeared before a debate alongside Clinton’s accusers and again mentioned the former president’s past while onstage with Hillary Clinton. But Trump’s argument was undercut when more women publicly came forward with allegations that he had groped or kissed them without consent.
Here’s a look at the pasts of both Trump and Bill Clinton and accusations against them.
Donald Trump
1977, 31-year-old Trump
Trump marries his first wife, Ivana Trump
Donald Trump Jr. is born
Early-1980s, 30-something Donald Trump
Allegation: While Trump was seated next to her on a plane, businesswoman Jessica Leeds said, he lifted her armrest and touched her inappropriately.
“He was like an octopus,†Leeds, now 74, told the New York Times. “His hands were everywhere.â€
Response: Trump called it a “ridiculous tale.†At a rally in North Carolina, he said, “She would not be my first choice.â€
1981, 35-year-old Trump
Ivanka Trump is born.
1984, 38-year-old Trump
Eric Trump is born.
1989, 43-year-old Trump
Allegation: Ivana Trump used the word “rape†in a 1992 deposition during their divorce to describe an encounter with Trump when they were married in 1989. In 2015, after the allegation resurfaced, she said it was “without merit†and that she had made it “at a time of very high tension during my divorce from Donald.â€
Response: After the allegation resurfaced last summer, Michael Cohen, a lawyer for the Trump Organization, incorrectly said that a man cannot legally rape his wife. Many states have laws outlawing marital rape. Trump distanced himself from that statement.
Early 1990s, 40-something Trump
Allegation: Kristin Anderson told the Washington Post that when she was at a Manhattan nightclub, someone sitting next to her "touched her vagina through her underwear.†Anderson said she fled the couch and only then realized it was Trump.
Response: "Mr. Trump strongly denies this phony allegation by someone looking to get some free publicity. It is totally ridiculous," Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks said to the Post.
1991, 44-year-old Trump
Ivana Trump files for divorce.
1992, 45-year-old Trump
Accusation: Donald Trump reportedly talked about dating young girls once they reached maturity. A 1992 wire service report said he joked to 14-year-old girls that he’d be dating them “in a few years.†In CBS footage from around the same time, he says of a 10-year-old girl that he’d be “dating her in 10 years.â€
Response: Trump has not commented specifically on those allegations.
Accusation: Jill Harth filed a sexual assault lawsuit against Trump, alleging that while working on a beauty competition with him, he harassed her to the point of what she called “attempted rape.â€
“He pushed me up against the wall, and had his hands all over me and tried to get up my dress again,†she told the Guardian. “And I had to physically say: ‘What are you doing? Stop it.’â€
Response: In an interview with CNN on Friday, Trump said he was the victim of a political smear campaign.
1993, 46-year-old Trump
Tiffany Trump is born.
Trump marries Marla Maples.
1997, 50-year-old Trump
Trump and Marla Maples separate.
Accusation: Temple Taggart told the New York Times that when she was Miss Utah, Trump kissed her on the lips without consent.
Response: Trump has denied the allegations.
1998, 51-year-old Trump
Accusation: During a press conference with Gloria Allred on Thursday, Karena Virginia said Trump approached her after the 1998 U.S. Open tennis tournament in Flushing, N.Y. He then grabbed her arm and touched her breast.
“Don’t you know who I am?†Virginia said Trump asked her when she flinched.
Response: "Gloria Allred, in another coordinated, publicity seeking attack with the Clinton campaign, will stop at nothing to smear Mr. Trump,†Trump spokeswoman Jessica Ditto said. “Give me a break. Voters are tired of these circus-like antics and reject these fictional stories and the clear efforts to benefit Hillary Clinton.â€
1999, 52-year-old Trump
Trump and Marla Maples divorce
2003, 56-year-old Trump
Accusation: Mindy McGillivray says Trump groped her at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida while she was working with a photographer at the site. She was 23.
Response: Trump has denied the allegations.
2005, 58-year-old Trump
Trump marries Melania Trump
Allegation: Trump makes lewd comments about groping women.
Response: Apologized, calling it “locker room talk,†while dismissing it as a distraction.
Accusation: Natasha Stoynoff of People magazine says Trump groped her while she was waiting for Melania Trump to return for an interview.
“Within seconds, he was pushing me against the wall, and forcing his tongue down my throat,â€
Response: Trump called the story a “total lie.â€
Accusation: Rachel Crooks says Trump kissed her without permission outside an elevator bank at Trump Tower in Manhattan when she was 22.
Response: Trump denied the allegations. When questioned by a New York Times reporter, he told the journalist, “You are a disgusting human being.â€
2006, 59-year-old Trump
Barron Trump is born.
Allegation: During a Saturday press conference with Gloria Allred, adult film star Jessica Drake said she met Trump in 2006 at a golf tournament in Lake Tahoe where she said he made sexual advances toward her and two friends.
"When we entered the room he grabbed each of us tightly in a hug and kissed each one of us without asking permission," Drake said, releasing a posed photo she took with Trump at the event.
Drake said that later, Trump or a “male speaking on his behalf†offered her $10,000 and use of his private jet for sex. She said she declined.
Response: "This story is totally false and ridiculous. The picture is one of thousands taken out of respect for people asking to have their picture taken with Mr. Trump," Trump’s campaign said in a statement. "Mr. Trump does not know this person, does not remember this person and would have no interest in ever knowing her."
2007, 60-year-old Trump
Accusation: Former “Apprentice†contestant Summer Zervos says Trump invited her into his bungalow at the Beverly Hills Hotel and proceeded to kiss her against her will, groped her and shoved his genitals towards her.
Response: "To be clear, I never met her at a hotel or greeted her inappropriately a decade ago. That is not who I am as a person, and it is not how I’ve conducted my life,†Trump said in a statement.
Bill Clinton
1975, 29-year-old Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton marries Hillary Rodham.
Mid-1970s to 1992, 30- to 40-something Clinton
Allegation: Dolly Kyle Browning, a high school friend of Clinton’s, said she had an occasional sexual relationship with him over about 15 years.
Response: Clinton has not publicly responded.
1978, 32-year-old Clinton
Allegation: Juanita Broaddrick said in 1999 that when Clinton was Arkansas governor, he invited her to a hotel room where she said he kissed, then raped her.
Response: Clinton denied the allegations.
1980, 34-year-old Clinton
Chelsea Clinton is born.
1982, 36-year-old Clinton
Allegation: In 1998, Elizabeth Ward Gracen said she had had a consensual one-night stand with Clinton when he was Arkansas governor in 1982. It was the same year she won the title of Miss America.
Response: Clinton denied the allegations.
1983, 37-year-old Clinton
Allegation: In 1994, 1958’s Miss Arkansas, Sally Perdue, said she had an affair with Clinton the previous year. She claimed that a Democratic staffer told her not to reveal any information, and was warned "they knew that I went jogging by myself and he couldn't guarantee what would happen to my pretty little legs."
Response: He has not publicly responded to the allegation.
1991, 44-year-old Clinton
Allegation: Paula Jones said a state trooper asked her to meet then-Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton in his hotel room. Jones said that Clinton dropped his pants and underwear and told her to “kiss it.†She refused.
Jones sued Clinton for sexual harassment in 1998, prompting the investigation that culminated in the revelation of Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky.
Response: Clinton settled a sexual harassment suit with Jones with no apology or admission of guilt.
1980-1992, 45-year-old Clinton
Allegation: During Clinton’s presidential campaign in 1992, Gennifer Flowers said she had had a 12-year sexual relationship with him.
Response: Clinton admitted to a sexual affair with Flowers while under oath in 1998.
1993, 46-year-old Bill Clinton
Allegation: In 1998, Kathleen Willey alleged Clinton groped her without permission in the Oval Office.
Response: Clinton denied the encounter while under oath in 1998.
1995-1996, 49-year-old Bill Clinton
Allegation: Monica Lewinsky’s affair with Bill Clinton surfaced in 1998, when Lewinsky’s friend Linda Tripp learned that she had signed an affidavit in the Paula Jones case denying her relationship with Clinton. Tripp handed secret recordings of Lewinsky’s account of the affair to investigator Kenneth Starr.
Response: Clinton initially denied the allegations.
“I did not have sexual relations with that woman,†he said famously.
Clinton later admitted to the affair, and the House of Representatives voted to impeach him.
Updated at 11:10 a.m. on Oct. 24, 2016: This story was updated with Jessica Drake’s statements.
Updated at 1:20 p.m. on Oct. 20, 2016: This story was updated with Karena Virginia’s statements.
This article was originally published at 3:35 p.m. on Oct. 19, 2016.
Twitter: @cshalby
ALSO:
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New sex assault allegations against Trump: 'He was like an octopus'
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