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How many women have publicly accused Donald Trump of sexual misconduct and what are their specific allegations?
Executive summary
Reporting and compiled lists across outlets say roughly 26–27 women have publicly accused Donald Trump of sexual misconduct, with some accounts tallying as many as 43 separate incidents tied to those women [1] [2] [3]. Allegations range from unwanted kissing and groping to claims of sexual assault and rape; one civil jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse in the E. Jean Carroll case, while other claims have produced settlements, dropped suits, or no criminal charges [4] [1] [5].
1. How many accusers? Competing counts, and why they differ
News outlets and compilations do not agree on a single final number because they use different criteria: Business Insider and contemporaneous lists cite “at least 26” named women who went public with accusations by 2023 [1]; other reporting and books compile as many as 26 women linked to 43 separate incidents, and later accounts marked a 27th named accuser in October 2024 [2] [5] [3]. The variance depends on whether reporters count separate incidents, include anonymous “Jane Doe” claims, include later additions from books or interviews, or count recanted or withdrawn allegations [2] [5].
2. The range of allegations: from harassment to claims of rape
The publicly described conduct spans a spectrum: many accusers allege unwanted kissing, groping and fondling; several alleged forcible sexual assault; and at least two women have made rape allegations in reporting or legal filings [6] [2]. E. Jean Carroll accused Trump of raping her in the mid‑1990s; a jury ultimately found him liable for sexual abuse and defamation in civil court but did not find him liable for rape under the specific legal standard applied by that jury [4]. Ivana Trump at one point alleged rape in a 1990 divorce deposition but later recanted that claim; other women’s accounts range from attempts at groping to forcible kissing [5] [7].
3. Legal outcomes and civil findings: what has been adjudicated
Most accusations have not resulted in criminal charges. The most significant court outcome is the E. Jean Carroll civil litigation: juries and judges awarded damages and found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation in related suits, resulting in at least tens of millions in damages that Trump is appealing [4] [5]. Other claims produced civil suits that were settled, withdrawn, or dismissed—Jill Harth’s 1997 breach‑of‑contract/harassment dispute was settled on the contract claim while the harassment claim was forfeited; some plaintiffs withdrew or did not pursue criminal charges [5] [1].
4. Notable named accusers and illustrative allegations
Reporting and timelines published by outlets list dozens of named women. Examples frequently cited include E. Jean Carroll (alleged assault in a department‑store dressing room in the mid‑1990s and a civil verdict finding Trump liable for sexual abuse), Jessica Leeds (alleged groping on a plane in the 1980s), Jill Harth (alleged groping under a table in the early 1990s and ensuing legal disputes), and a later‑reported accuser, Stacey Williams, whose 1993 groping allegation was publicly reported in late 2024 [4] [2] [1] [3]. Longer chronologies in The Guardian and other outlets list many additional women and incidents spanning decades [8] [2].
5. Sources, methodology and limits of the public record
Major compendia—books like All the President’s Women and aggregated media lists—combine interviews, contemporaneous reporting and legal filings to build tallies; that methodology increases the number of incidents counted but also introduces questions about verification and overlap [2]. Some claims were first reported in investigative books that compiled dozens of accounts; others arose in contemporaneous news reports or court documents. Available sources do not provide a single authoritative master list that reconciles duplicates, anonymous claims, recantations, or allegations later withdrawn [2] [5].
6. How Trump and his representatives have responded
Trump has broadly denied all allegations, calling them politically motivated or fabricated; his representatives have publicly disputed accusers’ accounts and threatened legal responses in some instances [1] [5]. Some cases involved countersuits or defamation claims; other accusers dropped civil suits or settled certain claims [5] [1].
7. Context and why this matters politically and legally
Journalists and analysts note the allegations shaped public debate, influenced elections and became evidence cited in civil litigation—most prominently in Carroll’s trial—while no criminal convictions of Trump for sexual misconduct have been reported in these sources [3] [4]. Different outlets stress implications differently: some emphasize the pattern shown across decades of accounts, while others highlight legal standards, settlements and the lack of criminal charges [8] [3].
If you want, I can: (a) produce a consolidated list of the named women and the short summaries attributed to them as reported in these sources; or (b) extract and compare how three outlets (e.g., The Guardian, Business Insider, Axios) define their counts and inclusion criteria.