Less than two hours before the second presidential debate, Donald Trump held a three-minute press conference with four women and sexual assault victims who said they were hurt by Hillary Clinton’s actions. The press conference comes after the release of a hot mic video Friday in which Trump talked about sexually assaulting women in graphic language.
The women at the press conference were Paula Jones, Kathleen Willey and Juanita Broaddrick, all of whom have accused Bill Clinton of sexual assault, as well as Kathy Shelton. Shelton was raped in 1975, when she was 12 years old, and Hillary Clinton defended her rapist in court.
All four of the women said they support Trump for president. None addressed the video from Friday, and none talked in detail about why they think Trump is a better candidate than Clinton.
“I’m here to support Mr. Trump because he’s going to make America great again,” Jones said. “And I think everybody else should vote for him. And I think they should all look at the fact that he’s a good person, he’s not what other people have been saying he’s being, like Hillary, so, think about that.”
Each of the other women also made brief statements, while Trump was silent aside from an introduction and inviting each woman to speak. At the end, when reporters began peppering Trump with questions about his treatment of women, Jones shot back, “Why don’t y’all ask Bill Clinton that? Go ahead and ask Hillary as well.”
In the video released Friday, Trump talked about trying to “fuck” a married woman and claimed that he could do anything due to his star power, including “grab her by the pussy.” Trump has also been accused of raping a 13-year-old girl.
Over the weekend following the hot mic video, more than 50 Republican leaders have denounced Trump’s statements, with nearly 30 saying he should end his bid for the presidency.