Donald Trump Accusers Find Unity in Stormy Daniels' Testimony, "We're Not Alone In This"

As Stormy Daniels took the stand to testify about her alleged sexual encounter with Donald Trump, the former president's other accusers were watching closely. Daniels' detailed account of being caught off guard by seeing Trump in his underwear and feeling an imbalance of power between them struck a chord with several women who have leveled similar allegations against the former president. For Amy Dorris, certain aspects of Daniels' testimony brought back vivid memories of her own alleged 1997 encounter with Trump.

"The age gap. Daniels's description of leaving a hotel bathroom and being surprised to see Trump in his boxers. Dorris said it reminded her of her own encounter with Trump outside a restroom," the Washington Post reported. Dorris claims Trump suddenly kissed and groped her against her will when she attended the U.S. Open tennis tournament in his VIP box years ago. Dorris is far from alone in making such accusations. Over a dozen women have publicly accused Trump of sexual misconduct ranging from unwanted kisses and groping to outright assault, though he has vehemently denied all the claims. As Trump mounts another run for the White House, these accusers have banded together in an informal support network, frequently emailing and video chatting.

"Now, Dorris and some other women who had publicly accused Trump of kissing or touching them inappropriately — sometimes alleging assault — are watching his campaign to return to public office with alarm," as per the Raw Story. "They are confiding in one another, following Trump's trials together and occasionally talking over Zoom." The group closely followed Daniels' high-profile court testimony last week detailing her alleged 2006 sexual encounter with the married Trump. "This past week, some of them discussed Daniels's testimony together," the article notes. For accusers like Natasha Stoynoff, who claims Trump assaulted her while she was on assignment interviewing him in 2005, Daniels' words carried a disturbing familiarity.

For the women making up this informal group, simply being able to share their experiences and commiserate with one another provides a sense of community. "We've been emailing each other, saying 'Oh my God, she feels similar to how many of us felt,'" Stoynoff told the Post. As Dorris put it, "It's powerful to know that we're not alone in this." She had previously gone public with allegations that Trump pushed her against a wall and forcibly kissed her at his Florida resort. Trump branded Stoynoff a liar at the time. While the accused former president denies any wrongdoing, his current legal team raised eyebrows by issuing a thinly-veiled threat to the Post over its story on the support network among Trump's accusers. An attorney claimed revealing details could violate a court gag order, though legal experts quoted disagreed with that expansive interpretation, as per The Daily Beast.