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Who are the women who have publicly accused Donald Trump of sexual assault or harassment, and when did they come forward?
Executive summary
Multiple news outlets and compiled lists report that dozens of women — commonly counted between the high teens and up to the sixties depending on criteria — have publicly accused Donald Trump of sexual harassment, assault or related misconduct from the 1970s through the 2010s; many of the most-cited compilations list roughly 20–27 named women, while longer surveys and opinion pieces note far more when including broader allegations and less-publicized claims (examples: Business Insider’s list of at least 26 [1]; Time and Quartz compilations placing counts near 18–19 when updated in 2019–2022 [2] [3]). Coverage is fragmented: some outlets present chronological listings of individual accusers and the dates they came forward; others emphasize cumulative counts or legal outcomes such as E. Jean Carroll’s civil verdict [4].
1. A fractured record: why counts vary
Different outlets count different sets of allegations. Business Insider assembled a list of at least 26 women who accused Trump of sexual misconduct [1], while Time and Quartz published chronological lists that identified around 18–19 accusers as of mid-2019 to 2022 [2] [3]. Other reporting and opinion pieces expand the tally much further — for example, a 2024 essay cited by Baptist News referenced as many as 69 women, reflecting looser criteria that include less-publicized claims and historical depositions [5]. Variations arise from whether publications include depositions (such as Ivana Trump’s 1990 divorce deposition), anonymous lawsuits, models and pageant-related claims, or only those who went on-record on the record publicly [1] [5].
2. When many accusers came forward: the 2015–2017 surge
Multiple women came forward publicly around the 2015–2016 presidential campaign and in the months after the 2016 Access Hollywood tape. Reporters such as Jessica Leeds, Rachel Crooks, Jessica Drake and Summer Zervos gave public accounts in October–November 2016 and thereafter, and several said Trump’s “locker room” remarks motivated them to speak up [6] [7]. News outlets that compiled lists note a concentration of new accusations during that period as his candidacy and early presidency drew national attention [2] [7].
3. High-profile legal outcomes and named cases
E. Jean Carroll’s allegation — she said Trump assaulted her in the mid‑1990s — led to civil litigation and a jury finding Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation in 2023, with a monetary award the press reported [6] [4]. Coverage highlights Carroll as among the most legally consequential cases; reporting also notes that Trump’s team broadly denies the accusations and often disputes particulars [6] [4].
4. Longstanding allegations reaching back decades
Several allegations predate the 21st century. Business Insider and The Guardian recount claims tied to the 1980s and 1990s, including Ivana Trump’s 1990 divorce deposition describing a 1989 incident [1] and Jill Harth’s lawsuit alleging harassment in the 1990s [8]. The Guardian and other outlets list alleged incidents from the 1970s through the 2010s and place many accusers in modeling, pageant and entertainment contexts [8] [9].
5. How outlets present names and dates
Some publications provide named lists with alleged dates and the dates the women went public (Time and ABC gave chronological lists and publication dates for individual accusations) while others summarize patterns or offer a running tally without uniform date stamps [2] [10]. For example, Time’s June 2019 piece presented accusers in chronological order of when their allegations surfaced in reporting [2]; Business Insider’s 2023 piece reiterated a roster of at least 26 accusers and contextual details [1].
6. Competing perspectives and denials
Trump and his spokespeople have consistently denied the allegations and, in campaign contexts, characterized some claims as politically motivated; campaign statements have labeled individual stories “unequivocally false” or suggested political organization behind them [11]. Other coverage notes that while many accusers went public, Trump “has never been charged” criminally on these allegations, a point frequently underlined by his defenders even as civil findings (in Carroll’s case) are reported [4].
7. Limits of the public record and what’s not covered here
Available sources provided to this summary compile many named accusers and describe key dates when their accounts were published or when lawsuits were filed, but they do not provide a single definitive roster with uniform “came forward” dates for every claim; counts differ across reputable outlets and some pieces aggregate more expansive, less‑verified allegations [1] [5]. If you want a single, dated list of every woman named in reporting plus the specific date she first spoke on the record, available sources do not mention a single canonical table that reconciles all variants — you would need to cross‑check multiple timelines such as Time’s list [2], Business Insider’s compilation [1] and The Guardian’s timeline [9].
If you’d like, I can synthesize a single, sourced timeline of the most frequently cited accusers (names, alleged incident year and first public disclosure date) using these sources as the basis. Which level of inclusiveness do you prefer — a short list of the highest‑profile cases or a broader compilation used by outlets like Business Insider?