'Piece of meat': Trump sexual misconduct accusers appear with Megyn Kelly on 'Today'
Mary Bowerman, USA TODAY Network
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Three women who publicly accused President Trump of sexual misconduct shared their stories on the Today show Monday and spoke of the retaliation they've suffered since coming forward.
In an interview with Megyn Kelly, Jessica Leeds, Samantha Holvey and Rachel Cooks spoke about their interactions with Trump. The president has denied all of the accusations, and during the interview, the White House released a statement slamming the "false claims."
The White House said the "timing and absurdity of these false claims speaks volumes" and reiterated that the American people "voiced their judgment" by electing the president.
The interview came hours before a news conference where the three women plan to demand that Congress investigate their claims.
Cooks, who accused Trump of forcibly kissing her when she met him outside a Trump Tower elevator in 2005, said despite Trump's denials, the accusations all have similarities.
"The things that happened to us span decades, states,” she told Kelly, reiterating the that stories are "eerily similar."
Cooks said she was a 22-year-old receptionist at a real estate investment firm when the incident happened and she felt trapped and like she would lose her job if she told anyone.
“I was uncomfortable because he was someone I saw regularly, and I knew he was a partner of the organization I worked for,” she said.
Holvey, who was formerly Miss North Carolina, told Kelly that it was a "somber" day when Trump was sworn into office.
In October 2016, Holvey, who competed in the 2006 Miss USA contest, told CNN that Trump “personally inspected each woman” before the pageant.
She reiterated these claims during Monday's interview with Kelly and said she felt like a "piece of meat" who was only "there for his pleasure" prior to the competition.
It was "something I had dreamed and worked so hard for, and I had just turned 20 years old, and I just felt so gross,” she told Kelly. “That’s not what I had signed up for.”
Leeds, a Manhattan resident, said last year in a Times article that Trump grabbed her breasts and tried to put his hand up her skirt during a flight to New York more than 30 years ago.
She told Kelly that several years after the incident she saw Trump at a gala and he referred to her as a c----.
She said she came forward because she "wanted people to know who he is."
The appearances on Monday came one day after Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said that anyone who claims they were victims of sexual misconduct should be heard, even if Trump is the alleged perpetrator.
"Women who accuse anyone should be heard," Haley said Sunday on Face the Nation. "They should be heard, and they should be dealt with. And I think we heard from them prior to the election.
"And I think any woman who has felt violated or felt mistreated in any way, they have every right to speak up."
Brave New Films, which released 16 Women and Donald Trump in November, said in a release that it would livestream the news conference at 10:30 a.m.
