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On 7 October 2016, The Washington Post released audio of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump having a lewd conversation with Access Hollywood's Billy Bush in 2005. In it, Trump can be heard making several comments, such as I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything and Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything. Many interpreted these comments to be admissions of sexual assault. More than a dozen women came forward in the aftermath of the tape's release with stories of the presidential candidate sexually assaulting them. Among his accusers were a contestant in a pageant he runs and a former contestant on his reality show. One prominent accusation during that time came from a woman who sued saying when she was 13 Trump allegedly solicited her for sex acts at a sex party in 1994. In an apparent attempt to discredit these women and their stories, the Facebook page Capitalists posted a meme in November 2016 claiming that Trump had never been accused of sexual assault until he started campaigning against Hillary Clinton: This meme was recirculated in December 2017 after three of Trump's accusers joined together to call on congress to launch a bipartisan investigation into the matter. Although an official investigation has not been launched as of this writing, lawmakers such as Kristin Gillibrand have also started pushing for an investigation into Trump's alleged sexual misconduct. Although Trump had toyed with running for president prior to the most recent election, the meme specifies ran against Hillary. Trump formally announced that he was running for president against her in June 2015. (Clinton announced in April of that year.) Although the majority of the 19 women accusing Trump of sexual assault did so publicly for the first time after this date, at least two women accused Trump of sexual assault before the start of his 2016 presidential campaign. Ivana Trump's Court Deposition in 1989: Ivana Trump, Donald's first wife, used the word rape under oath during a court deposition to describe an alleged violent sexual encounter with her soon-to-be ex-husband. Ivana's testimony was described in the 1993 book Lost Tycoon by Newsweek reporter Harry Hurt III: Ivana Trump released a statement shortly before this book was published to clarify that although she did truly use the word rape during her deposition, she did not mean it in a literal or criminal sense: According to a 1990 article from The New York Times, Ivana ultimately cited cruel and inhuman treatment by Mr. Trump as grounds for the divorce. Jill Harth's Lawsuit in 1997: Jill Harth, who at the time went by Jill Harth Houraney, filed a lawsuit in 1997 in which she accused Trump, among other things, of attempted rape. Harth's 12-page complaint listed several incidents in which Trump allegedly sexually assaulted her. Harth claimed that Trump treated her like a sexual object, expressed his interest to exploit her as a sex slave, demanded that she sleep with him, groped her during a business dinner party, and attempted to rape her: Harth also provided several accounts of Trump mistreating other women. Trump denied the allegations. According to Law and Crime, the lawsuit was voluntarily dismissed but without prejudice, meaning that Harth could have decided to refile the lawsuit at a later date. Relying on anonymous sources, the New York Daily News reported at the time that the matter ended with a six-figure payout: Widespread Accusations of Sexism: In addition to these two alleged incidents of forced sexual contact, the President was also repeatedly accused of sexism before he ran against Hillary Clinton. Although the following incidents focus on sexism and not necessarily sexual assault, they are worth mentioning as the meme suggests that Trump's alleged poor treatment of women didn't begin until the 2016 election. Former beauty queen Carrie Prejean described how contestants were subjected to the Trump Rule, a pre-contest ritual in which Trump and his staff would evaluate the contestants based on appearance, in her 2009 book: In 2011, the Washington Post used the Trump Rule as a jumping off point to list several other instances that allegedly displayed Trump's sexism: Trump was also accused of of sexist practices when employees of the Trump National Golf Club filed a a class action lawsuit in 2008. Although the bulk of the lawsuit dealt with the club's break policies, unpaid reimbursements, and supervisors receiving tips, Lucy Messerschmidt, who was employed as a host at one of the club's restaurants, said that she would be taken off shifts when Trump was on the premises because he liked to see fresh faces and young girls. The Los Angeles Times reported: The lawsuit was settled in 2013 when the club agreed, without admitting wrongdoing, to pay $475,000 to the employees. Strength in numbers: This meme makes the demonstrably false claim that President Trump was never accused of sexual assault prior to the 2016 election. He was accused of sexual assault during a 1989 court deposition, and again in 1997 lawsuit. It's worth noting that although it's true that the majority of sexual assault claims levied against the president weren't made public until the 2016 election, this doesn't necessarily mean that Trump's accusers were politically motivated, as suggested by the meme. Victims of sexual assault may decide to keep their stories private for many reasons. In light of the allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, for instance, many women have said that they didn't initially come forward because they were afraid of how it would affect their careers and personal lives. A 2003 study has shown that 75% of employees who spoke out against workplace mistreatment faced some form of retaliation. In addition to fearing the repercussions of accusing a powerful person of sexual assault, many victims wrestle with the simple fact that the public may not believe their story. But as more and more women came forward in 2017 to accuse politicians, producers, and businessman of sexually assault, and more importantly, story after story about those men getting fired, resigning, or simply being shunned, the prospect of coming forward became more plausible for some. Scott Berkowitz, president of the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN), an anti-sexual-violence group, noted that when one woman comes forward to speak about sexual abuse, other victims may find the courage to do the same: Sonia Ossorio, president of the National Organization for Women–New York, reiterated this sentiment in an interview with Self: In Trump's case, the majority of women accusing him of sexual assault came forward in October 2016 after the Access Hollywood tape was released. At the time, the language of the tape was being condemned by political parties on both sides of the aisle, and public opinion of the candidate appeared to take a hit. It's in this climate that most of Trump's sexual accusers came forward with their stories. This meme is strikingly similar to another claim we debunked which argued that President Trump was never accused of being racist until he ran for president. As with that declaration of innocence, however, we found that these accusations of racism were not the political manifestations of a contentious election. In fact, Trump has faced legal action in regard to discrimination laws and was accused of making racist remarks by former employees, committee members, and protesters long before his successful presidential bid in 2016. President Trump has been accused of sexual misconduct by nearly 20 women. Although the majority of those accusations were made public after the start of his 2016 presidential campaign, at least two of those accusations were made long before Trump had a career in politics.
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