Which women have publicly accused Donald Trump of sexual assault and what are their allegations?
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Executive summary
Multiple women — publicly reported as at least two dozen and by some outlets many more — have accused Donald Trump of a range of sexual misconduct from non-consensual kissing and groping to forcible sexual assault and rape spanning decades; Trump has denied all the allegations and at least one accuser, E. Jean Carroll, obtained a civil judgment finding him liable for sexual abuse and defamation in New York [1][2][3].
1. The tally and why it varies: counting accusers across decades
Different outlets list different totals — commonly cited figures include roughly 25–28 women in earlier compendiums, 26 named by Business Insider and Vice, 27 by Axios after a 2024 allegation, and as many as 69 when broader allegations and reporting are aggregated by long-form investigations and books — reflecting divergent criteria (who’s included, whether allegations are public, and whether workplace anecdotes are counted) rather than a single definitive list [1][2][4][5].
2. E. Jean Carroll: the most legally consequential allegation
E. Jean Carroll, a former Elle advice columnist, alleged Trump raped her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the mid‑1990s; she sued for defamation after his public denials and a Manhattan jury later found Trump liable for sexually abusing her and for defaming her, producing a civil damages ruling that has been widely reported [2][3].
3. Allegations of groping and forced kissing: several high‑profile accusers
Multiple women have said Trump kissed or groped them without consent in social settings and at events: Jessica Drake said Trump kissed her and two other women without permission in a 2006 hotel‑suite incident described in 2016; Karena Virginia accused him of touching her breast while waiting for a car in 2016; Cathy Heller says he kissed her on the lips at Mar‑a‑Lago in 1997 — allegations documented in major outlets [6][4][7].
4. Pageants, dressing rooms and the models: allegations from public events
Former Miss Arizona and other pageant contestants reported Trump entering dressing rooms or making lewd remarks; Lisa Boyne alleged women were forced to walk across a table while Trump looked under their skirts at a group dinner; Amy Dorris accused Trump of groping and forcing a kiss at the 1997 U.S. Open — these stories have been collected in multiple timelines and feature reporting [8][9][4][7].
5. Accusations from journalists and acquaintances tied to Mar‑a‑Lago and residences
Journalist Natasha Stoynoff alleged Trump assaulted her in a Mar‑a‑Lago interview setting, and longtime Mar‑a‑Lago regular Karen Johnson described being pulled behind a tapestry and groped; these accounts are included in investigative books and news recaps that assembled dozens of first‑person statements [10][11].
6. Litigation and public responses: denials, counterclaims and political weaponization
Trump has broadly denied all accusations and his campaign and spokespeople have called individual claims false or politically motivated; he has threatened suits and in some cases defended his denials in court contexts — the Carroll case, however, produced a civil finding of liability, while other allegations have not resulted in criminal charges and remain disputed in the public record [1][6][3].
7. Patterns, sources and investigative compilations: books and newsrooms that aggregated allegations
Investigative reporting and books such as All the President’s Women and long-form newspaper projects compiled dozens of accounts and interviews that expanded the list beyond early 2016 reporting; outlets including The Guardian, The 19th, PBS, Time and others produced timelines and named many accusers, acknowledging both corroborated details and limitations where witnesses or documents are lacking [5][10][11][9][8].
8. Context, competing narratives and the limits of public reporting
The public record shows a mix of contemporaneous accounts, later recollections and some documented depositions (including Ivana Trump’s 1989 divorce deposition) alongside campaign statements dismissing accusations as “dirty tricks”; reporting varies in standards of corroboration and not every allegation has been litigated or independently verified, so assessments depend on which sources and thresholds a reader accepts [1][9][6].