Trump's accuser expressed amusement when she heard him reiterate his denial of her alleged assault accusations.
I chuckled heartily. I couldn't believe he was using that term like some sort of cult leader's disciple, Leeds told CNN's Anderson Cooper on "AC360."
Leeds was one of the initial women to speak up during the 2016 presidential election, accusing Trump of sexually assaulting her. She claimed that she was seated next to Trump in first class on an airplane in the 1970s when he suddenly started groping her. Leeds stated that she managed to fend him off and move to the back of the plane.
“I wasn’t the first, and I certainly wasn’t the last. But there have been enough instances that he wouldn’t remember,” Leeds told Cooper on Monday.
In response to Leeds' comments, Trump's campaign spokesperson, Steven Cheung, flatly denied any encounter between Trump and Leeds, labeling her claims as a means to disrupt the election and divert attention from Vice President Kamala Harris, his democratic competitor.
Leeds was called to testify during Trump's sexual misconduct and defamation trial brought forth by E. Jean Carroll, who accused Trump of assaulting her in a department store dressing room back in 1996. Leeds was one of the two women called by Carroll's lawyers to provide evidence of Trump's pattern of sexually assaulting women and then tarnishing their reputations when the accusations became public.
The jury ruled in favor of Carroll for sexual misconduct and defamation in 2019, when Trump dismissed Carroll's allegations as false, claimed she wasn't his type, and suggested that she fabricated the assault to promote her book. The jury awarded Carroll $5 million in damages.
Trump is currently challenging the verdict.
During a court hearing on Friday, Trump's lawyers argued against the admissibility of Leeds' testimony, claiming that it was not a federal offense to sexually assault a woman on an airplane in the 1970s. Carroll's lawyer countered that "simple assault" was illegal on an airplane at the time.
Following the hearing, Trump lashed out at Leeds and other women who have accused him of sexual misconduct, labeling her claim a "completely fabricated story" and branding her a "die-hard Clinton supporter."
“Now, I assume she’ll sue me for defamation, just like E. Jean Carroll did,” the former president said.
Leeds addressed the media earlier this week at a news conference in front of Trump Tower, stating that "it's important to remind voters of Trump's disrespect towards women." She went on to say, "He assaulted me 50 years ago and continues to attack me today."
When asked by Cooper if she would consider taking legal action against Trump for his latest remarks, Leeds responded that "all options are on the table."
“But my goal when I was asked to testify in E. Jean’s trial was simply to establish that this is his behavior, a longstanding pattern, and I have nothing to gain from it,” she said.
Earlier this year, a distinct jury ruled in favor of Carroll for defamation, when Trump repeated his initial 2019 statements. The jury awarded Carroll $83.3 million in damages. Carroll's attorneys argued that the only way to deter Trump from repeating his statements was to hit him where it hurts - financially.
CNN's Kate Sullivan contributed to this report.
In the midst of Trump's challenges to the 2019 verdict, politics once again became a contested domain, with Trump attacking Leeds and other accusers.
During the 2016 presidential election, Trump's campaign spokesperson confronted Leeds' claims of sexual assault by flatly denying any encounter between the two.
