December 12, 2017

Trump Attacks Democrats Urging Him to Resign Over Sexual Misconduct Claims

Says Sen. Gillibrand used to come to his office and “do anything” for campaign money.

Aubrey Gemignan/ZUMA

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On Tuesday, President Donald Trump lashed out at the Democratic lawmakers urging his resignation over the longstanding sexual misconduct allegations made against him by at least fifteen women. 

The pair of angry tweets came one day after four Democrats, including Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), urged Trump to step down over the claims. Three of Trump’s accusers renewed their stories to the media on Monday in hopes that Congress would investigate their claims amid the broader national conversation about sexual harassment—a step the group of Democrats said they would welcome in the likely absence of Trump’s resignation.

In attacking Gillibrand, Trump said she would “do anything” for campaign contributions—a suggestive remark many on social media took as sexually demeaning. The New York senator swiftly fired back with a tweet of her own: “You cannot silence me or the millions of women who have gotten off the sidelines to speak out about the unfitness and shame you have brought to the Oval Office.”

The president also seemed to claim to have never met any of his accusers. While he has repeatedly denied their accusations of sexual misconduct, his at least 15 accusers include his ex-wife, a People reporter who interviewed him, a contestant on “The Apprentice,” women he has been photographed with, and women who have appeared in his beauty pageants.

During a press briefing on Monday, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders accused the media of intentionally reporting false information to mislead the public. 

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We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

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