Trump fumes over Washington Post story about a woman running for office who says he forcibly kissed her in Trump Tower
- On Tuesday, President Donald Trump fumed on Twitter over an allegation of sexual misconduct.
- In a couple of tweets, Trump criticized the Washington Post for reporting on a woman who says she was the victim of Trump's forced kisses in 2006.
- Trump denied the encounter ever took place, suggesting that the allegation was politically motivated.
President Donald Trump shot back against a woman who accused him of forcibly kissing her at Trump Tower in 2006 after her story was published Tuesday on the front page of The Washington Post.
"Never happened! Who would do this in a public space with live security cameras running," Trump said in a tweet on Tuesday.
"Another False Accusation," he added in a second tweet 13 minutes later. "Why doesn't @washingtonpost report the story of the women taking money to make up stories about me? One had her home mortgage paid off. Only @FoxNews so reported...doesn't fit the Mainstream Media narrative."
A month before the 2016 presidential election, Rachel Crooks began speaking out about her 2006 encounter with Trump while she was a 22-year-old receptionist working for a real estate company in Trump Tower.
"He started kissing me on one cheek, then the other cheek," Crooks told The Post. "He was talking to me in between kisses, asking where I was from, or if I wanted to be a model. He wouldn't let go of my hand, and then he went right in and started kissing me on the lips."
She said the incident lasted about two minutes. Crooks sent her mom and sister emails about the "weird incident" that afternoon, according to the Post.
'I feel forgotten'
Crooks, one of 19 women who have publicly accused Trump of sexual misconduct, has repeatedly spoken out about her experience, but says she feels forgotten because of how little of an impact her story has had.
"You can't help but wonder why people aren't talking about Trump and the people that came forward [to accuse] him," she said in an interview on CNN in December. "Why is he immune to this?"
Crooks is running for state representative in Ohio.
Trump has denied ever meeting her. He has also denied all of the other allegations of sexual misconduct against him.
After several of the president's accusers appeared on national television to rehash their allegations, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders suggested to reporters that most Americans don't consider the allegations disqualifying.
"The people of this country, at a decisive election, supported President Trump," Sanders said, "and we feel like these allegations have been answered through that process."
The White House has also accused some of the accusers of spreading "false claims" for political purposes.
Crooks flatly denies that.
"I know there are many worse forms of sexual harassment, but doesn't this still speak to character?" she told the Post. "I don't want money. I don't need a lawsuit. I just want people to listen. How many women have to come forward? What will it take to get a response?"