In light of new sexual misconduct allegations released Monday from three different women, President trump tweeted, "Despite thousands of hours wasted and many millions of dollars spent, the Democrats have been unable to show any collusion with Russia - so now they are moving on to the false accusations and fabricated stories of women who I don’t know and/or have never met. Fake News!"
Despite thousands of hours wasted and many millions of dollars spent, the Democrats have been unable to show any collusion with Russia - so now they are moving on to the false accusations and fabricated stories of women who I don’t know and/or have never met. FAKE NEWS!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 12, 2017
The Allegations
In total 15 women have so far come forward with accusations that they were sexually assaulted by Donald Trump.
The tweet was in response to three women who detailed their sexual assault during a Monday press conference at the Lexington Hotel in New York. Samantha Holvey, Rachel Crooks and Jessica Leeds described situations of where Trump forcibly groped and kissed the women during his time as a reality TV star and Miss America Pageant owner.
This is not the first time these women have come out with these allegations. During the 2016 election, they came forward but were dismissed by many Republicans and conservatives. They are now calling on Congress to investigate the now President Trump and hope that the recent #MeToo movement in the United States and elsewhere will begin to shine light on these sexual assaults.
Trump's Response
Trump's Tweet is the typical response from the President who has denied any accusations of sexual misconduct. The current Russian Collusion investigation into potential Russian interference into the 2016 election has yet to connect Trump directly with these actions, but has seen the arrests of high-level Trump officials and has found evidence of meetings related to the election with Trump Jr.
and Russian officials.
The current trend of painting allegations of Russian Collusion and Sexual Assaults as "Fake News" has been echoed through the conservative political realm of talk shows and television.
The tweet has mimicked this trend by connecting Democrats failed attempts to directly connect Trump with Russian collusion, with the growing media attention into the sexual assault allegations.
Response from the Political World
When asked about the allegations, Trump's White House Press secretary Sarah Sanders further reiterated the President's stance, "This took place long before he was elected to be president... And the people of this country, at a decisive election, supported President Trump, and we feel like these allegations have been answered through that process."
Nikki Haley, the current US ambassador to the UN, struck a tone that seemed in opposition to the president's stance, "I know that he was elected. But, you know, women should always feel comfortable coming forward. And we should all be willing to listen to them."
It is yet to be seen how her stance will affect her current job position, as the Trump administration has seen an unprecedented amount of firings of officials who opposed the President's views.
In response to the latest allegations, a group of Democrat senators have begun calling on the President to resign, further boosting Trump's narrative that Democrats are creating the allegations as another ploy to remove him from office.
