After Donald Trump's denial that he groped women, female accusers start coming forward

Donald Trump is facing new allegations of sexual assault
(Image credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images))

Donald Trump continues to say he won Sunday night's debate against Hillary Clinton, but one answer is costing him dearly on Wednesday. When pressed by Anderson Cooper, Trump said that despite his recently unearthed lewd language about forcing himself on women, he had never actually kissed or groped anyone without her consent. Three women told The New York Times and Palm Beach Post that Trump had done just that, and that they came forward after hearing Trump's denial on Sunday night. None of the women reported the alleged assault, but all of them told family or friends about it.

Jessica Leeds, 74, and Rachel Crooks, 33, tell The New York Times that Trump groped or kissed them in public more than a decade ago. Crooks said that in 2005, when she was a 22-year-old receptionist at a real estate company inside Trump Tower, she ran into Trump at an elevator bank, introduced herself, and after a long handshake and kiss on the cheek, Trump "kissed me directly on the mouth." "I was so upset that he thought I was so insignificant that he could do that," she said.

Leeds told The Times that she was seated next to Trump in first class some 30 years ago, and about 45 minutes into the flight, he lifted up the armrest, moved next to her, then grabbed her breasts and tried to put his hand up her skirt. "He was like an octopus," she said. "His hands were everywhere." Leeds said she fled to the back of the plane but did not tell police or the airline because men made unwanted advances on women when she was in business in the 1970s and early '80s, and "we were taught it was our fault."

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Mindy McGillivray, 33, tells the Palm Beach Post that when she worked with a contracted photographer at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort, Trump came on to her in 2001 and grabbed her "pretty close to the center of my butt" at a reception in 2003. Trump, who is famous for making employees and associates sign nondisclosure agreements, was not a direct employer of any of these women. Trump denied the allegations to The New York Times on Tuesday night, saying "none of this ever took place," and telling the female reporter: "You are a disgusting human being."

On MSNBC Wednesday night, Trump supporter A.J. Delgado reiterated those denials, saying she did not find the women's accusations "credible." Watch. Peter Weber

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.