Megyn Kelly on People's corroboration of alleged Trump assault: 'If this is a conspiracy, wow!'

Megyn Kelly reacts to People backing up Donald Trump abuse accuser

(Image credit: Fox News/YouTube)

published 19 October 2016

On Tuesday evening, People magazine named six friends and colleagues who corroborated writer Natasha Stoynoff's account of being sexually assaulted by Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in 2005, and printed their own recollections. On Fox News Tuesday night, Megyn Kelly was impressed by People's "extraordinary response." "It's not just, 'we trust our writer' — it's 'Here are six people who she told the night of the alleged attack, the day after the alleged attack, an independent witness who says she was there for the Melania Trump exchange,'" she told guest Howard Kurtz. "I mean, if this is a conspiracy, wow, it's a really well organized by People."

"Well, I don't think the election's gonna turn on this," Kurtz said, but the fact that these six people can give a "detailed account" of this decade-old story "adds credibility to her account, because why would she make this up 10, 11 years ago?" This is mostly still in the news, he added, because Trump himself keeps on attacking his accusers as liars and attacking the media for carrying their allegations.

"And not just that," Kelly said. "He doesn't just come out and say, 'It isn't true, I'm not going to dignify this with a back-and-forth,' he attacks their looks. He's been pointing everybody... to pictures of this reporter, suggesting, 'I would never, I don't find her attractive.'" Whether or not Trump finds them attractive "just for the record makes no difference when it comes to harassment," Kelly said. "It's not about 'I'm so attracted to you I can't keep my hands to myself,' it's about power." Watch below. Peter Weber

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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.