Seventh woman accuses George H.W. Bush of groping her — this time while he was president


An unnamed woman accused former President George H.W. Bush of groping her during a photo-op at an event for his 1992 re-election campaign, CNN reported Thursday. The unnamed woman is the seventh woman to allege that the former president groped her while posing for a photo.
The unnamed woman, who asked not to be identified by CNN, said that she and her father were taking a picture with Bush at a campaign fundraiser in Dearborn, Michigan, when the then-president grabbed her rear. The woman said that at the time, she convinced herself the contact was "probably an accident," but said the stories from other women who claimed to have similar experiences with Bush convinced her to speak out.
Of the seven women to accuse the former president of sexual harassment, the Michigan woman is the first one whose alleged incident occurred while Bush was in office.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
While Bush spokesman Jim McGrath declined to comment on this specific allegation, he dismissed a previous allegation of sexual harassment that occurred years later by saying that the former president's physical condition — he is confined to a wheelchair — made it so that "his arm falls on the lower waist of people with whom he takes pictures." McGrath has also said that "on occasion, [Bush] has patted women's rears in what he intended to be a good-natured manner."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kelly O'Meara Morales is a staff writer at The Week. He graduated from Sarah Lawrence College and studied Middle Eastern history and nonfiction writing amongst other esoteric subjects. When not compulsively checking Twitter, he writes and records music, subsists on tacos, and watches basketball.
-
How to create a healthy 'germier' home
Under The Radar Exposure to a broad range of microbes can enhance our immune system, especially during childhood
-
George Floyd: Did Black Lives Matter fail?
Feature The momentum for change fades as the Black Lives Matter Plaza is scrubbed clean
-
National debt: Why Congress no longer cares
Feature Rising interest rates, tariffs and Trump's 'big, beautiful' bill could sent the national debt soaring
-
Depleted FEMA struggling as hurricane season begins
speed read FEMA has lost a third of its workforce amid DOGE cuts enforced by President Donald Trump
-
White House tackles fake citations in MAHA report
speed read A federal government public health report spearheaded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was rife with false citations
-
Judge blocks push to bar Harvard foreign students
speed read Judge Allison Burroughs sided with Harvard against the Trump administration's attempt to block the admittance of international students
-
Trump's trade war whipsawed by court rulings
Speed Read A series of court rulings over Trump's tariffs renders the future of US trade policy uncertain
-
Elon Musk departs Trump administration
speed read The former DOGE head says he is ending his government work to spend more time on his companies
-
Trump taps ex-personal lawyer for appeals court
speed read The president has nominated Emil Bove, his former criminal defense lawyer, to be a federal judge
-
US trade court nullifies Trump's biggest tariffs
speed read The US Court of International Trade says Trump exceeded his authority in imposing global tariffs
-
Trump pauses all new foreign student visas
speed read The State Department has stopped scheduling interviews with those seeking student visas in preparation for scrutiny of applicants' social media