Donald Trump holds pre-debate presser with Bill Clinton accusers
Oct 9, 2016, 4:58 PM | Updated: 5:14 pm
Donald Trump appears to be doubling down on his attack on the character of Bill and Hillary Clinton heading into his Sunday night debate in St. Louis.
Just more than an hour before the debate was set to begin, the Republican presidential candidate held a press conference broadcast on his Facebook account with four accusers against the Clintons: Paula Jones, Juanita Broaddrick, Kathy Shelton and Kathleen Willey.
“I think everybody else should vote for him and I think they should all look at the fact that he’s a great person,” said Jones, a former Arkansas state employee who sued Bill Clinton for sexual harassment and reached a settlement in the case in 1998.
“At 12 years old, Hillary put me through something that you would never put a 12-year-old through,” said Kathy Shelton, who as a 12-year-old was allegedly raped by a factory worker who was defended by a 27-year-old Hillary Rodham, before she married and became Hillary Clinton.
Perhaps most well-known in the current news cycle was Juanita Broadderick, who accused Bill Clinton of raping her in 1978. Trump retweeted Broaddrick’s support for him on Saturday.
How many times must it be said? Actions speak louder than words. DT said bad things!HRC threatened me after BC raped me.
— Juanita Broaddrick (@atensnut) October 8, 2016
Hillary calls Trump's remarks "horrific" while she lives with and protects a "Rapist". Her actions are horrific.
— Juanita Broaddrick (@atensnut) October 8, 2016
“I tweeted recently, and Mr. Trump retweeted it, that actions speak louder than words,” said Broadderick on Sunday. “Mr. Trump may have said some bad words but Bill Clinton raped me and Hillary Clinton threatened me. I don’t think there’s any comparison.”
Kathleen Willey also expressed her support for Trump. She was a former White House aide who in 1998 claimed Bill Clinton had sexually harassed her in 1993.
“Why’d you say you touch women without consent, Mr. Trump?” asked an attendee at the end of the press conference.
“Why don’t you ask Bill Clinton that, why don’t you ask Bill Clinton that?” Jones responded. “Why don’t you ask Hillary as well?”
Clinton’s campaign released a statement shortly after the press conference.
Statement from @jmpalmieri on Trump's latest act of desperation pic.twitter.com/DWsARCJQzq
— Christina Reynolds (@creynoldsnc) October 10, 2016
Trump’s attack on Clinton comes after a video of his crude conversation with TV host Billy Bush surfaced. He apologized but Republicans have continued dropping out in support of Trump.
