A woman who worked for President Trump's 2016 campaign alleges in a lawsuit he kissed her without consent, The Washington Post reports.
Alva Johnson claims that in August 2016, Trump grabbed her hand and kissed her outside of a rally in Tampa, Florida. She called this "super creepy and inappropriate" and said, "I immediately felt violated because I wasn't expecting it or wanting it. I can still see his lips coming straight for my face."
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.
The Post confirmed with Johnson's boyfriend, mother, and stepfather that she told them about the incident at the time, and the outlet also reviewed her therapist's notes, which mention an unspecified incident during the campaign.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders denied Johnson's account, calling it "absurd on its face" and saying the allegation "never happened and is directly contradicted by multiple highly credible eyewitness accounts." One eyewitness, former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, says she "one hundred percent" does not recall seeing Trump kiss Johnson. Johnson said Bondi saw the kiss and smiled at her afterward.
Johnson, who says she quit the campaign shortly after the Access Hollywood tape leak, claims that when she first met Trump in 2015, he eyed her up and down and said, "Oh, beautiful, beautiful, fantastic," according to the lawsuit. She additionally says she was paid less than her white male colleagues, something a Trump campaign spokesperson also denied.
-
Violent videos of Charlie Kirk’s death are renewing debate over online censorshipTalking Points Social media ‘promises unfiltered access, but without guarantees of truth and without protection from harm’
-
What led to Poland invoking NATO’s Article 4 and where could it lead?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION After a Russian drone blitz, Warsaw’s rare move to invoke the important NATO statute has potentially moved Europe closer to continent-wide warfare
-
Africa could become the next frontier for space programsThe Explainer China and the US are both working on space applications for Africa
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to TrumpSpeed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raidsSpeed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raidSpeed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearingSpeed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mountSpeed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own listspeed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battleSpeed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants
