Fact check: Who are the women who accused Donald Trump of sexual assault and what are the dates and locations of each alleged incident?

1. Who appears on the lists and what they say really happened

Compilations from journalistic outlets and crowd‑sourced encyclopedias enumerate roughly 27–28 named women who have accused Trump of misconduct, and they routinely include long‑publicized claimants such as Jessica Leeds (who says Trump groped her on a flight in the late 1970s), E. Jean Carroll (who alleges rape in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the mid‑1990s), Natasha Stoynoff (who says she was assaulted while interviewing Trump at Mar‑a‑Lago in 2005) and Summer Zervos (a contestant who alleges unwanted kissing and groping in 2007). These lists extend to allegations spanning Trump Tower, Mar‑a‑Lago, private residences, pageant backstage areas and commercial flights, and they distinguish between alleged forcible rape, non‑consensual groping and unwelcome advances; the variation in language matters because sources sometimes categorize incidents differently ^{[1] [2] [5]}.

2. Dates and locations that recur across sources — patterns, not perfect agreement

Across the sources a consistent pattern emerges: accusations cluster in three eras — late 1970s (airline and public encounters), the 1990s (retail dressing rooms, nightclubs, marriage‑era disputes) and the 2000s–2010s (Mar‑a‑Lago, pageants, Apprentice‑era meetings). Specific examples repeated across records include Jessica Leeds’s late‑1970s flight incident; E. Jean Carroll’s mid‑1990s Bergdorf Goodman allegation; Ivana Trump’s account tied to 1990 during their marriage; and Natasha Stoynoff’s 2005 Mar‑a‑Lago claim. Secondary compilations expand beyond those anchor incidents to include allegations dated 1996–2016 at Trump Tower, Mar‑a‑Lago, pageant backstage areas and other venues, but the precise year or location sometimes differs between outlets because reporting relies on victims’ memories, contemporaneous notes, or later interviews ^{[1] [2] [5]}.

3. Evidence, corroboration and legal outcomes — which claims moved beyond allegation

Only a subset of allegations produced corroborating testimony, civil suits, or criminal proceedings. E. Jean Carroll’s account drew witnesses and went to trial, with testimony and witness statements documented in reporting ^[3]. The broader set includes civil suits like Summer Zervos’s defamation case and Manhattan investigations tied to payments to women including Stormy Daniels; those are separate legal tracks that intersect with claims of encounters or alleged hush money rather than direct assault charges ^[6]. Many accused incidents remain public allegations without civil verdicts or criminal charges; contemporary coverage therefore mixes legally adjudicated events with unproven public accusations, a distinction that sources sometimes blur in list form ^{[1] [7]}.

4. Why counts vary: methodology, definition and source agenda

Differences in totals — 27 versus 28 or more — stem from methodological choices: whether to include women who alleged affairs (often cited in hush‑money reporting), women who described consensual or disputed encounters, or only those who expressly alleged criminal sexual assault. Some outlets prioritize corroborated allegations or legal filings; others compile every public allegation irrespective of legal outcome. The choice reflects editorial priorities and potential agendas: advocacy outlets may center survivors and include more reports, while encyclopedic entries aim for broad cataloguing and cite varying standards. Readers should note that variations in numbers do not necessarily reflect factual contradiction but editorial thresholds for inclusion ^{[1] [2] [5]}.

5. What reputable recent reporting converges on and where uncertainty remains

Recent reporting through 2024–2025 consistently lists the same core set of high‑profile accusers and situates their allegations in familiar locations: flights, Trump Tower, Mar‑a‑Lago, dressing rooms and pageant backstages. Reports from 2023–2025 reinforce that multiple claims predate the 2016 campaign and that some, like E. Jean Carroll’s, were litigated or crystalized in court testimony ^{[3] [4] [6]}. Uncertainty remains around exact years for some older incidents, the legal classification of some encounters, and the extent of corroboration for lower‑profile allegations; aggregate lists give breadth but not uniform depth, so follow‑up on individual names is necessary to see legal outcomes or contemporaneous evidence ^{[1] [7]}.

6. What to read next to verify specific incidents

To verify individual incidents consult original reporting and court records referenced in the compilations: investigative profiles and trial coverage for litigated claims, contemporaneous magazine or newspaper interviews for early allegations, and legal filings tied to the Stormy Daniels hush‑money inquiry for related payments. Compilations are useful as starting maps, but they are summaries — not substitutes for primary documents; where a claim has moved into litigation, court transcripts and published testimony provide the most authoritative record. Cross‑checking the listed names against trial reporting and primary interviews resolves many of the discrepancies visible in broad lists ^{[1] [3] [6]}.