United States President Donald Trump denied a new accusation of sexual violence raised by a woman who said she had to fight him off more than 20 years ago in the dressing room of a high-end New York department store.
In an interview with The Hill newspaper on Monday, Trump said E. Jean Carroll, a longtime advice columnist for Elle magazine, was “totally lying.” “I’ll say it with great respect: Number one, she’s not my type. Number two, it never happened. It never happened, OK?” he said.
Carroll, 75, accused Trump in a New York magazine article on Friday of attacking her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the autumn of 1995 or spring of 1996. Trump, 73, also had denied the accusation in a statement on Friday, saying Carroll was just trying to boost sales of a new book, and again in remarks to reporters at the weekend.
“I am so glad I am not his type,” Carroll said in a Monday evening interview with CNN.
In the article, which was adapted from her memoir, Carroll said Trump overpowered her in a dressing room that had a closed door and penetrated her in an encounter that lasted no more than three minutes.
She said she told two friends, but did not report Trump to authorities because she feared retribution from the wealthy and connected businessman. News outlets including the New York Times said the friends corroborated her report over the weekend.
She wrote Trump pushed her against the wall and put his mouth against her lips.