How many sexual misconduct allegations have been made against Trump since his presidency began in 2017?
Executive summary
Reporting compiled by multiple outlets counts roughly between the high teens and the high 20s of women who have publicly accused Donald Trump of sexual harassment, groping or assault since the 1970s; several outlets cited 25–27 accusers by late 2024, and earlier summaries from 2017–2020 listed between about 18 and 26 women [1] [2] [3] [4]. Available sources do not provide a single authoritative, official tally restricted only to the period since Trump became president in January 2017; most aggregations count accusations spanning decades, not only his presidency [1] [3] [4].
1. What the major tallies say — a range, not a single number
News organizations and aggregators report slightly different totals: Wikipedia and related summaries say “at least 25” women overall since the 1970s [1] [5], Axios and The Guardian noted reporting that put the count around 27 by October 2024 after new allegations surfaced [2] [6], and Business Insider compiled lists of 26 accusers in earlier coverage [3]. These sources count public allegations over many years rather than restricting to conduct alleged while Trump held the presidency [1] [3] [2].
2. Why no neat “since 2017” answer appears in the reporting
The available compilations are organized chronologically across decades; they aggregate claims dating from the 1970s through the 2010s and into the 2020s, not just incidents alleged to have occurred while Trump was in office [1] [6] [3]. None of the cited lists explicitly separates the subset of allegations that were made after January 20, 2017 (the start of his presidency) versus those that were publicly reported earlier or refer to earlier decades [1] [3] [4]. Therefore a source-supported figure “since 2017” is not available in the provided reporting.
3. What changed during and after his presidency: visibility and litigation
Several allegations surfaced or were litigated during and after Trump’s 2017–2021 first term; media attention spiked following the 2016 campaign and the 2017 Access Hollywood tape, and some accusers pursued lawsuits in that period [4] [2]. High-profile civil findings followed later: for example, a jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing E. Jean Carroll and for defamation in related claims — litigation and damages are documented in the compendia [1] [2]. Those legal outcomes are reported as distinct from the count of people who have made allegations [1] [2].
4. Disagreements, source methods and possible agendas
Differences among tallies reflect editorial choices: who counts as an “accuser” (models, reporters, former contestants, or those whose claims were recanted), whether to include allegations reported in books or memoirs, and whether to include nonconsensual kissing vs. rape or assault allegations [3] [7]. Outlets that compiled lists (Business Insider, The Guardian, Axios) aimed to document named claims; academic commentary has urged formal inquiry into patterns rather than focusing only on case counts [3] [6] [7]. Political actors and Trump’s allies pushed narratives that the public had “litigated” or judged these claims at the ballot box; accusers and victims’ advocates framed the lists as evidence of a persistent pattern [4] [7].
5. What reporters and researchers flag as limitations
Compilations note that some allegations were later recanted or settled, and that only a small number resulted in formal legal findings — the majority are public allegations reported in media, books or interviews [1] [4] [7]. Sources emphasize that counting allegations is not the same as adjudication; litigation outcomes (when they exist) are described separately from the raw tallies [1] [2].
6. How to interpret the numbers responsibly
If your goal is a historical count of public allegations against Trump irrespective of timing, the available sources cluster around 25–27 named women as of late 2024 [1] [2] [3]. If instead you mean “allegations made against Trump after he became president in 2017,” the sources provided do not offer a clear, source-cited subtotal limited to 2017–present; available sources do not mention a definitive figure restricted to that timeframe [1] [3] [4].
If you want, I can extract from these sources a list of named accusers and the year each allegation was first reported so you can see exactly which allegations were made or surfaced after January 2017; that would allow a source-cited subtotal restricted to his presidency [6] [3] [2].