US President Donald Trump has taken to Twitter to hit out at one of the women accusing him of sexual harassment, questioning “who would do that in a public space”.
Rachel Crooks has told her story before and this time she spoke to the Washington Post, drawing the ire of the President.
At least 18 other women have also accused Mr Trump of sexual misconduct spanning decades of his career in real estate.
Mr Trump seemed to imply that Ms Crooks’ story of him allegedly forcing himself on her and kissing her on the 24th floor of Trump Tower in 2006 did not make sense.
He tweeted that “live security...cameras running” would have likely prevented any kind of verifiable sexual harassment.
“Another false accusation,” Mr Trump said. He and the White House have called all the accusations “fiction” and another reason for the public not to trust the “fake media”.
Ms Crooks, a native of a small Ohio town who has since moved back to the area, told the newspaper that Mr Trump was only the second man to ever kiss her.
She has not sought financial reward or even legal action. ”I just want people to listen. How many women have to come forward? What will it take to get a response,” she said.
The international student recruiter at Heidelberg University in Tiffin, Ohio, has experienced stares from neighbours, online harassment, and death threats – the county she lives in went for Mr Trump in the election by a two-thirds majority.
She had felt “feelings of self-doubt and insignificance” for a decade before she began to hear other women’s stories ahead of the 2016 US election.
By late 2017, Ms Crooks was speaking publicly with a few other accusers about wanting Congress to launch an investigation into their allegations. They called it a “call to action,” and she – despite the fact that some of her own family supported Mr Trump – openly spoke about the 2006 incident.
The women had been disappointed their stories did not make a difference in the election results.
Ms Crooks has since decided to run for office in the Ohio state legislature, telling Cosmopolitan magazine: “I think my voice should have been heard then, and I’ll still fight for it to be heard now,” Ms Crooks added “Americans are really upset with politics as usual, and I want to be a voice for them.”
Mr Trump continued to accuse all news outlets save for his favoured Fox News for not reporting on his accuser’s supposed financial motivations because “it doesn’t fit the mainstream media narrative.”
