In 2020 writer E. Jean Carroll, who previously accused Donald Trump of rape in 2019, wrote about journalist Natasha Stoynoff’s accusation that Trump had sexually assaulted her years earlier. On Wednesday Stoynoff appeared in a campaign ad sponsored by George Conway in which she detailed what happened when she visited Trump at Mar-a-Lago.
“My name is Natasha Stoynoff. In 2005, I went to interview Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago,” she began. “At one point, Melania went upstairs to change her clothes for the next photoshoot. And Trump said to me, ‘I want to show you this beautiful painting, this beautiful room.’”
“He leads me to this room, pushes me against the wall, and starts kissing me forcefully. I tried to push him, but he came back at me. I was in shock, getting smothered, and he had his hands here against my shoulders. I felt sick inside. I felt horrified, and thank goodness the butler charges into the room.”
“Like many women, I blame myself. So Trump turned to me and said, ‘You know we’re going to have an affair, don’t you?’ And Melania was approaching. I was horrified,” Stoynoff continued. “When the ‘Access Hollywood’ tape came out, and also stories of many other women, including E. Jean Carroll, I realized I was not to blame, that he was just a predator of women.”
“What could have happened if the butler had not come into the room? Donald Trump is an adjudicated sexual assaulter. We cannot elect this man as president,” she concluded.
Stoynoff joined CNN’s Erin Burnett on OutFront Wednesday night to speak about the ads, which are produced by the Anti-Psychopath PAC. Burnett pointed out that despite the fact that Trump referenced Stoynoff by name at a campaign event two weeks ago (and he also spoke about her in 2016), he has since reversed course and claimed he doesn’t know who she is.
Burnett asked Stoynoff why she is sharing her story again, after having first done so in 2016. “It is a risk to come forward. I feel that way and all the other women felt that way as well. But the risk that the country faces if he wins again is far greater to me. And I do think coming forward again right now could make a difference,” Stoynoff explained.
She added that while on a 10-minute Uber ride in Colorado, she changed the mind of her driver, who was committed to vote for Trump, simply because she told her story. “So one vote at a time and that is what matters.”
You can watch the ad starring Natasha Stoynoff in the video above.
