Jill Harth, one of several women who’ve accused President-elect Donald Trump of sexual assault, expressed a mixture of disbelief and cynicism about his ascent to the White House following Tuesday’s election.
Harth, who’s said that Trump sexually harassed and groped her in the 1990s while they worked together on a business project, said that his victory caused her physical discomfort even though she should have expected it all along.
The two met while staging a pageant competition called American Dream Calendar Girls, but the venture ended badly in several ways. Harth, the vice president of American Dream, and her partner accused Trump of cheating them out of $250,000, according to court documents reported in The Boston Globe. In addition, the Globe reported that Harth said the casino developer made unwanted sexual overtures to her and groped her beneath a table during a dinner party.
A lawsuit over the financial dispute was settled out of court and Harth dropped a separate case about the sexual allegations, but she’s stuck by her account.
“How can people not believe me now?” Harth said on “Inside Edition” after video surfaced in October of Trump boasting to “Access Hollywood” co-host Billy Bush about forcing himself on women.
Trump recently claimed to The New York Times that Harth had pursued him when they worked together.
Harth isn’t the only accuser expressing dismay over Trump’s win. Alicia Machado, the former Miss Universe who’d been tormented by Trump after gaining weight, said on Twitter in Spanish that she was saddened without mentioning the president-elect by name.
“Very sad to see the triumph of hate and division I move forward with my projects and my responsibility to raise a good person! Blessings,” Machado tweeted.
Lisa Bloom, an attorney and the daughter of lawyer Gloria Allred, who represents multiple women accusing Trump of sexual misconduct, likewise saw Trump’s victory as a grim omen.