Reporter asks Sarah Huckabee Sanders if she has ever been sexually harassed and if she has empathy for accusers
Screenshot/White House
- White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was asked whether she personally has been sexually harassed and whether she has "empathy" for victims of harassment.
- The question was one several Sanders received during a press briefing on Monday concerning the 19 allegations of sexual misconduct that have been made against the President Donald Trump.
After facing several questions about President Donald Trump's alleged history of sexual misconduct, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders was asked during a press briefing on Monday whether she had ever experienced sexual harassment herself, and whether she has empathy for those who have.
"Absolutely I would say that I have an empathy for any individual who has been sexually harassed and that certainly would be the policy of the White House," Sanders said.
"I'm not here to speak about my personal experience on that front, but I'm here to relay information on behalf of the president," she added.
Trump, who maintains that all 19 women who allege he sexually harassed or abused them are "liars," has both praised women for coming forward with their stories of sexual abuse across the country and defended alleged sexual predators, including Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore, who's been accused of sexually abusing several teenage girls when he was in his 30s. One woman has accused him of molestation and another has accused him sexual assault and attempted rape.
The White House released a statement on Monday morning, as three of Trump's female accusers spoke about their experiences on NBC News' "Megyn Kelly Today," calling the allegations against the president politically motivated.
"These false claims, totally disputed in most cases by eyewitness accounts, were addressed at length during last year's campaign, and the American people voiced their judgment by delivering a decisive victory," the statement read. "The timing and absurdity of these false claims speaks volumes and the publicity tour that has begun only further confirms the political motives behind them."
Sanders restated that position in her response to questions during Monday's press briefing, repeatedly saying the allegations against Trump are unimportant to Americans and were addressed by Trump's election.