--- title: Donald Trump: Accuser's Cousin Refutes Harassment Claim description: Donald Trump's campaign on Friday defended the Republican nominee with a statement from the cousin of a woman accusing Trump of harassment canonical: https://time.com/4532422/donald-trump-accuser-cousin-sexual-harassment/ author: Katie Reilly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-10-15T14:18:31.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:47:56.448Z article:section: Politics og:title: Trump Campaign: 'Bewildered' Cousin of Accuser Refutes Harassment Claim og:description: The campaign put forth his statement to refute her claims of sexual harassment og:url: https://time.com/4532422/donald-trump-accuser-cousin-sexual-harassment/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4c444b64880f145e/6988aa2da988ca33a76b9c39/summer-zervos-trump-cousin.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5366 og:image:height: 3018 og:image:alt: Attorney Gloria Allred, Summer Zervos og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Trump Campaign: 'Bewildered' Cousin of Accuser Refutes Harassment Claim twitter:description: The campaign put forth his statement to refute her claims of sexual harassment twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4c444b64880f145e/6988aa2da988ca33a76b9c39/summer-zervos-trump-cousin.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Trump Campaign: 'Bewildered' Cousin of Accuser Refutes Harassment Claim > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Former Apprentice Contestant Says Donald Trump Sexually Harassed Her, Kissed Her on the Mouth [Watch (HLS stream): Former Apprentice Contestant Says Donald Trump Sexually Harassed Her, Kissed Her on the Mouth](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/7KSt8af2.m3u8) (1:24)  _Published 2016-10-15. A woman who was a contestant on Donald Trump’s show The Apprentice said in a press conference Friday that Trump kissed her on the mouth, stripped naked and attempted to seduce her when she met with him for professional advice._  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Oct 15, 2016 2:18 PM UTC  Attorney Gloria Allred, left, comforts Summer Zervos as Zervos, a former contestant on "The Apprentice," reads a statement during a news conference in Los Angeles on Oct. 14, 2016. Attorney Gloria Allred, left, comforts Summer Zervos as Zervos, a former contestant on "The Apprentice," reads a statement during a news conference in Los Angeles on Oct. 14, 2016. Ringo H.W. Chiu—AP  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Oct 15, 2016 2:18 PM UTC Donald Trump’s campaign on Friday put forth the cousin of a woman who [accused the Republican nominee](http://time.com/4531878/donald-trump-summer-zervos-apprentice/?xid=homepage) of sexual harassment, using his statement as evidence against the woman’s account. John Barry, whom the Trump campaign identified as the first cousin of Summer Zervos, said in a statement that he was “shocked and bewildered” by the [Friday press conference](http://time.com/4531878/donald-trump-summer-zervos-apprentice/?xid=homepage) at which Zervos said Trump kissed her on the mouth, stripped naked and attempted to seduce her when she met with him for professional advice in 2007. “I think Summer wishes she could still be on reality TV, and in an effort to get that back she’s saying all of these negative things about Mr. Trump. That’s not how she talked about him before,” said Barry, who provided no evidence to counter Zervos’ claim. “I can only imagine that Summer’s actions today are nothing more than an attempt to regain the spotlight at Mr. Trump’s expense, and I don’t think it reflects well.” During the press conference, Zervos said she had told a friend and her parents about the incident. She said she was upset at the time, but had still hoped to get a job within the Trump Organization to further her business career. “I felt I was being penalized for not sleeping with him,” she said. Trump has denied the accusations from Zervos and [multiple other women](http://time.com/4530242/donald-trump-sexual-allegations/) who this week accused him of inappropriately touching or kissing them without consent. At a rally on Friday, Trump [attacked the credibility](http://time.com/4532181/donald-trump-north-carolina-accusers-speech-transcript/) and appearance of his accusers and blamed their claims on a “rigged system” conspiring against him. “It’s a lie, total lie, it’s fabrication,” he said [during the speech](http://time.com/4532181/donald-trump-north-carolina-accusers-speech-transcript/). “Sometimes they do it for fame, maybe they get money, who knows?” At a subsequent rally on Friday night, Trump described himself as the victim. “As you have seen, I am a victim of one of the great political smear campaigns in the history of our country,” he said. “They are coming after me to try and destroy what is considered by even them the greatest movement in the history of our country. There’s never been anything like this.” ## Transcript [ BLANK_AUDIO ] I stood up and he came to me and started kissing me open- mouthed as he was pulling me towards him. I walked away and I sat down in a chair. He was on a loveseat across from me, and I made an attempt at conversation. He then asked me to sit next to him. I complied. He then grabbed my shoulder and began kissing me again very aggressively, and placed his Placed his hand on my breast. I pulled back and walked to another part of the room. He then walked up, grabbed my hand, and walked me into the bedroom. I walked out. He then turned me around and said, let's lay down and watch some telly telly. He put me in an embrace. And I tried to push him away. I pushed his chest, put space between us, and I said, come on, man, get real. He repeated my words back to me. Get real, as he began thrusting his genitals. He tried to kiss me again, with my hands still on his chest, and I said dude, you're tripping right now, attempting to make it clear I was not interested. He said, what do you want and I said I came to have dinner. He said okay, we'll have dinner. 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