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In an interview with The Guardian on 17 September, 47-year-old former model Amy Dorris accused US President Donald Trump of raping her in 1997 during the US Open tournament.
Such allegations against Trump are not new. The US President has a track record of alleged sexual harassment and misconduct. Here are eight disturbing stories about Trump’s misconduct and the lewd remarks he has made on women.
Author E Jean Carroll had, in 2019, accused Trump of raping her in a dressing room of a luxury departmental store in the 1990s. Almost 23 years later, at the peak of the #MeToo movement, Carroll narrated her ordeal to The New York Times.
Trump denied the charges and said that he could not have raped her because she is not "his type". Trump claimed the allegations were baseless, and he had never even met Carroll. Although, in a photo clicked in 1987, Trump can be seen along with Carroll.
Trump's pool parties have always been in the news. In one of these parties, Trump had allegedly sexually harassed Jill Harth. Harth had filed a case against him in 1997 but later retracted it after Trump had put a condition that he'll only withdraw a case against her husband if she retracts hers.
Ivana and Trump got married in 1977, and they divorced after 14 years, allegedly on grounds of cruelty and inhuman behaviour on Trump’s part. Ivana had said that she would not speak to the media regarding her relationship with Trump.
Trump spoke to former attorney and author of 'Disloyal' about his three wives. After his divorce with Ivana, Trump married actor Marla when she was pregnant. They, too, got divorced after six years. After their divorce, Marla said that she could not change her husband's ego, to which Trump said that it's not difficult for him to get a wife.
Melania Trump is currently the First Lady of the US. Trump's many affairs while being married to Melania have made headlines. His alleged affair with adult movie star Stormy Daniels grabbed eyeballs, and Daniels later said that she had an affair with Trump in 2006. She was paid $130,000 for signing a non-disclosure agreement ahead of the US Presidential Elections in 2016.
An old tape of Trump came to light ahead of the 2016 US Presidential Elections. The Washington Post claimed that it had the footage of Trump, in an interview with TV presenter Billy Bush, speaking on groping and sexually exploiting women without their consent.
Trump has, on multiple occasions, said that if Ivanka wasn't his daughter, he would have dated her and had a relationship with her as well. He said Ivanka had a 'great figure' and called her 'hot'. These comments were heavily criticised on social media.
In the book 'Vanity Fair Diaries', author and editor Tina Brown had recalled how in a party in New York, Trump had spitefully poured a glass of wine on journalist Marie Brenner's back.
Later, in his book 'Trump: The Art of the Comeback', Trump had written that he did not like Brenner's article on him and that she is a very 'unattractive reporter'.
Trump’s relations with women politicians have mostly been bitter. According to Trump, women politicians lack talent. He called Former United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton the ‘worst loser'. He also said that US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez a 'real beauty' who 'knows nothing about the economy'.
In an interview, he even said that changing diapers is a woman's job and that it is not suitable for a man.
One can connect the dots between Trump's conduct and comments on the representation of women in US politics. And this holds true for every country, including ours.
(Masha is a freelance journalist who specialises in women’s issues. This is an opinion piece and the views expressed are the authors’ own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for them.)
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