Anapol writes: "A former syndicated Fox News host said Friday that President Trump tried to kiss her in an elevator in '2005 or 2006,' which she said surprised her but did not make her feel threatened."
Donald Trump. (photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
09 December 17
former syndicated Fox News host said Friday that President Trump tried to kiss her in an elevator in "2005 or 2006," which she said surprised her but did not make her feel threatened.
It's unclear whether Trump was married at the time since Juliet Huddy does not recall the exact date, Page Six reported.
“He took me for lunch at Trump Tower, just us two,” Huddy said on Compound Media’s “Mornin’! With Bill Schulz.” “He said 'goodbye' to me in an elevator while his security guy was there; rather than kiss me on the cheek he leaned in to kiss me on the lips. I wasn’t offended, I was kind of like, ‘Oh my god.' ”
She added that she “didn’t feel threatened,” but was “surprised” that Trump tried to kiss her.
“It was a weird moment,” she said. “He never tried anything after that, and I was never alone with him.”
Huddy said that while she was not offended at the time, in hindsight she would have resisted his advances.
“Now I have matured I think I would say, ‘Woah, no,’ but at the time I was younger and I was a little shocked,” she said. “I thought maybe he didn’t mean to do it, but I was kind of making excuses.”
Trump later joked about the incident, she said. Trump appeared to acknowledge his past with Huddy in an appearance on her Fox News show, saying, “I hit on her but she blew me off."
Huddy, who appeared on multiple Fox News shows and co-hosted a syndicated show based on New York affiliate channel WNYW, left Fox News after filing a harassment complaint against Bill O’Reilly. She accepted a reported six-figure settlement from Fox’s parent company, 21st Century Fox. O’Reilly was fired earlier this year over sexual harassment allegations.
Huddy added that she was “disappointed” in Trump’s reaction to the O’Reilly news.
“When all the stuff came out about Bill O’Reilly, Donald Trump was one of the people who said, ‘I don’t believe this happened and I don’t believe he did it,’ ” Huddy said. “I was actually very disappointed in Trump, I thought, ‘You know what, f--- you.’ ”
Huddy's comments come amid a national conversation about sexual misconduct by powerful men. More than a dozen accusations of sexual harassment and assault were made against Trump during his 2016 campaign. The White House claims the women making such claims are lying.
After Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) stepped down from the Senate on Thursday over groping allegations, some lawmakers, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), have called for Trump to step down over the allegations against him.
