Donald
Trump attacks his accusers as Hillary Clinton sets sights on Congress
Republican
voices grievances at Gettysburg while his Democrat opponent looks
towards winning down-ballot contests
Porn
star Jessica Drake is 11th woman to allege Trump sexual misconduct
Ben Jacobs in
Gettysburg and Sabrina Siddiqui in Philadelphia
Sunday 23 October
2016 03.47 BST
With the
presidential election 17 days away, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton
both focused on other targets on Saturday.
Trump used what was
billed as a major policy address to threaten lawsuits against women
who have accused him of sexual misconduct, hours before a new accuser
came forward. Clinton, ahead in national polls by around six points,
shifted her focus to the Senate and the House.
Speaking in
Pittsburgh, Clinton turned her focus on to the incumbent Republican
Pennsylvania senator Pat Toomey, who faces a tough re-election fight
against Democrat Katie McGinty. Clinton boosted the challenger while
criticizing Toomey, who has yet to say if he will vote for Trump in
November.
Later, Clinton told
reporters: “As we’re traveling in these last 17 days, we’re
going to be emphasizing the importance of electing Democrats down the
ballot.”
In Gettysburg, a
stone’s throw from the site of the bloodiest battle in American
history, Trump showed new venom as he attacked the women who have
accused him of groping and inappropriate sexual advances.
“Every woman lied
when they came forward to hurt my campaign, total fabrication,”
Trump said of the 10 women who had then come forward to accuse him of
sexual misconduct, hours before an 11th, Jessica Drake, spoke at a
press conference in Los Angeles.
Porn star Jessica
Drake is 11th woman to accuse Donald Trump of sexual misconduct
“The events never
happened,” Trump added. “All of these liars will be sued after
the election is over.”
Speaking to a crowd
who had been invited to hear a major policy speech, he added: “It
was probably the [Democratic National Committee] and the Clinton
campaign that put forward these liars with these fabricated stories.”
Later, speaking to
reporters on her campaign plane, with running mate Tim Kaine at her
side, Clinton said: “That is just not accurate.”
She added: “I saw
where our opponent Donald Trump went to Gettysburg, one of the most
extraordinary places in American history, and basically said if he’s
president he’ll spend his time suing women who have made charges
against him based on his behavior.
“Tim and I are
going to keep talking about what we want to do if we’re given the
great honor of serving as president and vice-president.”
The accusations
against Trump have been made after the release earlier this month of
a 2005 recording of him bragging about grabbing women by the
genitalia and trying to “fuck” a married woman.
Trump subsequently
apologized and, when questioned by moderator Anderson Cooper in the
second presidential debate, denied that he had ever actually engaged
in such behavior. Women have since come forward to challenge that
claim.
Drake, a 42-year-old
porn star and sex educator, said on Saturday that Trump hugged her
and kissed on the lips without permission at a golf tournament in
Lake Tahoe “10 years ago”. She also said Trump offered her
$10,000 to return to his hotel room alone.
Drake appeared at a
press conference with the lawyer Gloria Allred, who released to the
press a picture of Drake with Trump at the golf event.
Donald Trump with
Jessica Drake in 2006. Photograph: Handout/Gloria Allred
In an unattributed
statement, the Trump campaign said: “This story is totally false
and ridiculous. The picture is one of thousands taken out of respect
for people asking to have their picture taken with Mr Trump.
“Mr Trump does not
know this person, does not remember this person and would have no
interest in ever knowing her.”
In Gettysburg, Trump
also claimed the media fabricated stories to make him “look bad”,
in particular, never showing or talking “about the massive crowd
size” at his rallies.
He returned to other
familiar topics, claiming without evidence the existence of massive
voter fraud and attacking Clinton. At a rally in Cleveland on
Saturday evening, he said his opponent was guilty of “opening the
door to unlimited drugs pouring into your community”.
Trump eventually did
use his speech in Gettysburg to attempt to put his policy proposals
in new focus, with what his campaign had billed as his “Contract
for the American Voter”.
He reiterated
policies such as cutting taxes, increasing military spending,
implementing ethics reform in Washington and building a wall on the
Mexican border.
The setting for the
speech – close to the battlefield where in 1863 Abraham Lincoln
delivered the Gettysburg Address – was meant to be symbolic. Trump,
campaign sources said, believes the country to be almost divided as
it was during the civil war. That conflict lasted for more than four
years. More than 600,000 Americans died.
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