3 Women Come Forward With Tales Of Donald Trump's Grabby Hands and Unwanted Kisses

Days after Donald Trump denied during a nationally televised debate ever having touched women inappropriately, at least three women came forward to say that’s exactly what the Republican nominee for president did to them.

Jessica Leeds of Manhattan and Rachel Crooks of Ohio told their stories to the New York Times, which published their accounts in an article Wednesday night titled, "Two Women Say Donald Trump Touched Them Inappropriately." Shortly after the Times story went live, the Palm Beach Post published the account of Mindy McGillivray, who said she was groped at Mar-a-Lago.

The reports come as Trump and his campaign are dealing with the leak of audio in which he bragged in lewd terms about touching and kissing women as he pleases because of his stardom. Women voters increasingly view him with disdain and may swing the election against his favor, recent polling shows.

Leeds told the Times she was on a plane more than 30 years ago, sitting next to Trump in first-class. He put the arm rest up, she said, grabbed her breasts and tried to reach up her skirt. She moved to the back of the plane.

“He was like an octopus,” she told the Times. “His hands were everywhere.”

Crooks was a receptionist for a real estate firm that had an office in Trump Tower. When she was in an elevator with Trump, the two shook hands. But Trump held on and kissed her cheek, then her mouth, Crooks told the Times.

“It was so inappropriate,” Crooks told the Times. “I was so upset that he thought I was so insignificant that he could do that.”

In a statement, Trump campaign spokesman Jason Miller called the article "fiction" and a "coordinated character assassination."

"To reach back decades in an attempt to smear Mr. Trump trivializes sexual assault, and it sets a new low for where the media is willing to go in its efforts to determine this election," the statement said, adding, "This is a sad day for the Times."

Read the full report from The New York Times here.

McGillivray, in Florida, told the Palm Beach Post she was groped 13 years ago by Trump at his luxury resort in Palm Beach. Her friend who was with her that day also told the Post he remembers McGillivray saying, "Donald just grabbed my ass!"

Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks told the Post, “There is no truth to this whatsoever."

Other stories of Trump's grabby hands emerged earlier in the campaign. A former Miss Washington said on Facebook that Trump "continually grabbed my ass."

Cassandra Searles, 2013's Miss Washington, took to Facebook to share her story. According to a screengrab of the post published by Yahoo, she wrote, "Do y’all remember that one time we had to do our onstage introductions, but this one guy treated us like cattle and made us do it again because we didn’t look him in the eyes? Do you also remember when he then proceeded to have us lined up so he could get a closer look at his property?”

She then took to the comments section to add: “He probably doesn’t want me telling the story about that time he continually grabbed my ass and invited me to his hotel room."

CBS also published Wednesday night a clip of Trump telling a group of 10-year-old girls he would be dating one of them in 10 years. And Buzzfeed shared stories of Miss Teen USA contestants who said Trump walked through their dressing rooms while they were naked.

The slew of reports follow another allegation about Trump's treatment of women made five days ago that dramatically changed the presidential race.

On Friday, the Washington Post published unaired footage from an "Access Hollywood" special featuring Trump, in which he and host Billy Bush brag about actions that qualify as sexual assault.

“I’ve gotta use some Tic Tacs, just in case I start kissing her,” Trump says in the 2005 recording, taken just months after he married his third and current wife Melania. “You know I’m automatically attracted to beautiful — I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait.

"And when you’re a star they let you do it,” Trump added. “You can do anything.”

“Whatever you want,” Bush tells him.

“Grab them by the p---y,” Trump says. “You can do anything.”

At Sunday's debate, moderator Anderson Cooper asked Trump if he had ever done any of what he said. Trump replied: "No, I have not."

Hillary Clinton spokeswoman Jennifer Palmieri released the following statement Wednesday night:

"This disturbing story sadly fits everything we know about the way Donald Trump has treated women. These reports suggest that he lied on the debate stage and the disgusting behavior he bragged about in the tape are more than just words."

The leaked tapes, combined with a debate performance heavy on deeply personal attacks against Clinton, have caused Trump's numbers in national and battleground state polling to drop.

In a four-way race, Clinton leads Trump by 5.5 points, according to the RealClearPolitics average of major state polling. Trump is also now trailing in polls in nearly every battleground state.

Rasmussen's poll of 1,500 likely U.S. voters from Wednesday showed Clinton beating Trump by seven points among women. It has a margin of error of 2.5.

Pollster Nate Silver tweeted Tuesday night what the electoral map would look like if only women voted in November:

This story will be updated.

Image via Gage Skidmore, Flickr, used under Creative Commons