On Sunday morning, Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-NC) told Jake Tapper on CNN’s State of the Union that the sexual assault allegations against Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump are merely a “she said, he said” situation.
Tapper quickly interrupted her.
“Just to correct you, it’s actually a she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said situation,” he said.
Jake Tapper corrects Trump surrogate: "This is a she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said situation." pic.twitter.com/9vOMdtffTR
— Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) October 16, 2016
In fact, there are now 14 reported allegations of sexual harassment or assault against Trump.
The most recent accuser came forward less than 24 hours before Ellmers— who lost her primary in June despite Trump’s support — went on Tapper’s show.
Twenty years ago, Cathy Heller was at a Mother’s Day brunch at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate when Trump himself came out to the dining room and greeted the members of his club. When he was introduced to Heller, she says Trump’s greeting didn’t stop at “hello.”
“He took my hand, and grabbed me, and went for the lips,” Heller told The Guardian on Saturday. When she tried to pull away and avoid his kiss, the Republican presidential nominee allegedly was not pleased.
“He was pissed. He couldn’t believe a woman would pass up the opportunity,” Heller said.
Heller’s story follows a pattern similar to the one Trump himself bragged about in the recently surfaced video from 2005.
“You know, I’m automatically attracted to beautiful — I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait,” Trump says.
But despite similar stories from more than a dozen women and Trump’s own words, his surrogates continue to question the alleged victims. Their strategy seems to be questioning the timing of the allegations and the media’s involvement.
“I will say that I think it’s a little curious timing three weeks before a presidential election. Donald Trump has been running for office for a year and a half,” Ellmers said on MSNBC on Saturday.
Numerous accusers have said they decided to go public with their stories about Trump’s conduct in wake of Trump categorically denying he has ever committed sexual assault during the second presidential debate.
On Sunday morning, Trump’s running mate Mike Pence told Chuck Todd on Meet the Press that these are merely “unsubstantiated allegations.”
Trump surrogate Newt Gingrich said on ABC’s This Week that this is part of a media conspiracy and that “20 TV executives have decided to destroy [Trump].” Some of the accusers, however, brought their stories to the media. A number of the allegations are corroborated by people the accusers told about the incidents at the time they occurred.
Just one week after Trump held a press conference before the second debate with women who have accused Bill Clinton of sexual misconduct, Trump surrogates are now begging TV hosts and journalists to get back to the “real issues.”
“We’ve all known who Donald Trump is. This doesn’t change anything. He never claimed to be a choirboy,” Ellmers said. “He never claimed to be a saint. I’m not electing or trying to help get elected the next Pope. I am trying to get elected the person who’s going to go to Washington and clean it up.”