Photo
President Trump listened to Vice President Mike Pence’s remarks in a signing ceremony for the Space Policy Directive 1, a return to the moon for American astronauts, at the White House on Monday. Credit Doug Mills/The New York Times

WASHINGTON — President Trump attacked Senator Kirsten Gillibrand on Tuesday, calling her a “lightweight” and saying she “would do anything” for campaign contributions, without providing details about what he meant.

The president’s Twitter post came less than a day after Ms. Gillibrand, Democrat of New York, said in her own Twitter post that Mr. Trump should resign over sexual assault and harassment allegations against him or that Congress should investigate.

Ms. Gillibrand responded to Mr. Trump’s tweet early Tuesday, saying he had brought shame to the presidency.

The president on Tuesday also blamed Democrats for the resurgence of accusations against him from women in the past, saying the “fabricated stories” were a result of Democrats being unable to prove his campaign colluded with the Russians.

The special counsel’s investigation into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election and possible coordination with people in Mr. Trump’s circle has dominated his first year in office.

During the presidential campaign, several women accused Mr. Trump of sexual harassment or groping. On Monday, three women held a news conference in Manhattan to retell their experiences, saying they hoped that recent accusations against other powerful figures would prompt their stories to be taken more seriously.

Continue reading the main story

The recent spate of accusations against leading men in government and the media, including Harvey Weinstein, Bill O’Reilly, Representative John Conyers and Senator Al Franken has fueled a public discussion of sexual harassment.

Mr. Franken, Democrat of Minnesota, resigned last week after several allegations of inappropriate behavior. In his resignation speech, Mr. Franken said he found it ironic that he would leave office while the president had bragged on tape about sexually assaulting women.

Mr. Franken was referring to a 2005 recording of Mr. Trump while filming a segment for Access Hollywood in which he boasted about how he could treat women however he wanted because he was famous, including kissing them and grabbing their genitals. The recording emerged about a month before the 2016 election.

Ms. Gillibrand was the first Democratic senator to publicly say that Mr. Franken should resign, and she has been a leading voice on Capitol Hill against sexual harassment of women.

Mr. Trump has also been criticized for supporting Roy S. Moore, the Republican candidate for the United States Senate seat from Alabama, who has been accused of sexual misconduct with teenagers when he was in his 30s.

The Alabama special election is Tuesday.

Continue reading the main story