Melania Trump Pauses When Questioned About Sexual Allegations Against Donald in Old Clip: “I Believe…”

Melania Trump may have been a silent spectator when her husband was subjected to media scrutiny, but in 2016, she openly addressed sexual misconduct allegations against Donald Trump . During a sitdown with CNN , Melania faced questions about multiple women claiming to be Trump’s mistresses while he was still married to her, and here’s how she responded.

Host Anderson Cooper asked, “A number of women have come forward who made allegations against your husband, some of them go back to 30 years. He [Trump] said they’re lying. Do you believe him?” The Slovenian-American paused briefly before replying, “I believe my husband,” and claimed that it was “all organized” by the opposition and Trump’s political enemies.

She further noted, “With the details [the media] have got, did they ever check the backgrounds of these women? They didn’t have any facts.” Meanwhile, she defended her husband, saying he had never been inappropriate with women throughout the years she had known him, first as a girlfriend, later as a wife. “My husband is kind and he is a gentleman and he would never do that,” reiterating, “I know he respects women but he is defending himself because they are lies.” Instead, she said it was other women who approached Trump with their phone numbers in front of her which was, of course,  uncomfortable.

Since the 78-year-old politician’s first presidential bid in 2016, he’s been embroiled in scandals involving women. Among the list was the infamous 2005 Access Hollywood videotape where President-elect Trump made controversial remarks about “grabbing women by the p***y” and gained a bad reputation following a series of other women coming out with their own stories.

But when Melania was asked to reflect on Trump’s lewd remarks in the 2005 tape, she recalled, “I said to my husband that, you know, the language was inappropriate. It’s not acceptable,” while also defending that he’s raw and say things like it is. But she also noted that she was “surprised” to hear that because “that is not the man” she knew and got married to.

Trump’s reputation for being immoral with women dates back to the 1980s before he became president of the United States. Back when he was New York City’s real-estate mogul , he was surrounded by women some of whom remained silent while others spoke up against him. For instance, the first accusation was made by Jessica Leeds in the 80s who called Trump an “octopus.”

The New York Times reported Leeds claimed Trump sat down next to her in a first-class cabin and began to touch her inappropriately. “He was like an octopus. His hands were everywhere.” In addition, the 90s witnessed more women who shared their own experiences like Kristin Anderson, who told The Washington Post that Trump “touched her vagina through [her] underwear.”

Meanwhile, some other names that emerged in the 90s were Stacey Williams, E. Jean Carroll , Lisa Boyne, Mariah Billado, Cathy Heller, Amy Dorris, and Karena Virginia, per The Guardian . The 2000s highlighted more cases, including Stormy Daniels who was the center of the high-profile Hush Money trial . However, Trump vehemently and repeatedly denied all the allegations against him.