Women who have accused Trump of sexual misconduct call his endorsement of Roy Moore 'horrifying' and 'disgusting'
- Three women who allege that Donald Trump sexually harassed or abused them called the president's endorsement of Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore "horrifying."
- The women said they weren't surprised that Trump would support Moore, who has allegedly committed sexual misconduct with underage girls, given that he was elected president despite 19 accusations of sexual misconduct.
Three women who allege that Donald Trump sexually harassed or assaulted them called the president's endorsement of Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore, who has also been accused of sexual misconduct, "disgusting" and "horrifying."
Speaking at a press briefing on Monday morning, the women, Samantha Holvey, Rachel Crooks, and Jessica Leeds, recounted their experiences with Trump, who has been accused by 19 women of sexual misconduct.
All three women condemned Trump's support for Moore, who many Republican leaders have called on to withdraw from the Alabama special election after several women said he pursued sexual relationships with them when he was in his 30s and they were teenagers.
"It's confusing because you would think that the good people of Alabama could see through this," Leeds said. "But we've gotten so polarized with the politics, they want to keep a Republican seat even though it's a pedophile."
Crooks said it "makes perfect sense" for the president to deny the allegations against Moore because that tactic had worked for him in the 2016 presidential election.
"Nothing shocks me or surprises me about Trump anymore," Crooks said. "In fact, I think his endorsement of Roy Moore makes perfect sense for him because he was able to deny what we said and that got him elected just fine, so it's like passing the torch for Roy to do the same."
Holvey, Leeds, and Crooks all came forward with their accusations against Trump during the 2016 presidential election and are receiving new attention amid a national conversation about sexual harassment and assault. The women appeared on NBC News' "Megyn Kelly Today" on Monday morning to talk about their experiences with Trump.
The White House released a new statement regarding Trump's female accusers on Monday morning during Kelly's show, calling the allegations "false claims," and accusing the women of being politically motivated.
"These false claims, totally disputed in most cases by eyewitness accounts, were addressed at length during last year's campaign, and the American people voiced their judgment by delivering a decisive victory," the statement read. "The timing and absurdity of these false claims speaks volumes and the publicity tour that has begun only further confirms the political motives behind them."
Trump flatly denied all of the allegations when they were made public during the 2016 presidential election, calling the women liars and claiming to be the "victim" of a "political smear campaign" led by then-Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and her supporters.
But over the weekend, several Democratic lawmakers called on Trump to resign over the allegations and Nikki Haley, Trump's ambassador to the United Nations, told CBS' "Face the Nation" that the president's accusers "should be heard."
Trump could be forced to testify in court regarding the sexual misconduct allegations as part of a defamation lawsuit filed by Summer Zervos, one of his accusers, if the case is not dismissed.