Jessica Leeds responds to Trump's remarks about her sexual abuse claims

Joshua who will share their harrowing stories about the tragic impact that the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roy way has had on women across this country um and then we'll have some time after to take some Q&A so with now I'm going to turn over to Jessica I'm here today to tell my story yet again because I believe it's important to remind the voters of Trump's disrespect of he saled me 50 years ago and continues to attack me today in the late '70s I was a representative for a company and I was traveling on the road flying and there were very few women at that time who were traveling and I got on this airplane we were going to New York and got to my seat which was in the back of the of the airplane and the stewardess came down the aisle and asked me if I would like to come up to First Class well I had been asked to come up to first class before much better accommodations in in the back of the bus so up I went and I was seated in the first row next to a gentleman who had the Window Seat he turned to me he introduced himself as Donald Trump we proceeded then to have a conversation well he had the conversation speaking about himself and how important he was in New York City they served the meal it was good after the meal was over all of a sudden this man started grabbing me and trying to kiss me and it was like he had 47 arms like an octopus and but not a word not a sound was was broken but when he started to put his hand up my skirt that gave me enough energy to wiggle out of the seat and I stomped back to my seat at the back of the bus I waited until the plane landed and let the entire plane empty out well all I could think of is this was a jerk wouldn't be the first time I'd met a jerk he was a jerk but 2 years later I had left that job and I had come to New York City to work and I got a job where it was a nonprofit and they were having a fancy Gala at sax withth Avenue right down the street here it was a lovely New York experience and I was in charge of the cable chairs in comes Donald Trump and I looked at him and I thought I remember you and as I'm handing him his table assignment and he looked at me and he said I remember you you're that lady on the that [ __ ] on the airp plane well it was like a bucket of cold water had been thrown over me and it was like all of a sudden I was alone in this room that was packed with people so that really cemented the whole experience years go by years 2015 I realized that this guy is actually going to run for president so I wanted everybody that I knew to find out what kind of to know what kind of a person he is so I started telling everybody my co-workers my family my book club every anybody and everybody that I could get to pay attention to but it was during the debates and this was after the Access Hollywood tape had come out and he had said the things that he said which was the same thing I experienced he didn't ask my permission that and and I the commentator had asked him have you ever assaulted woman and he he tried to talk about Syria he tried to talk about anything else but finally he was nailed and he said no well between stalking Hillary on the stage and his lying it just so infuriating that the next morning I found myself writing letter of the New York Times without even reading describing the whole situ what it happened I hit the send button and I left my apartment when I got back from my apartment the New York Times called we can't print your letter but we would like to send a reporter they sent a reporter over they did a video and that hit and all of a sudden it was like a whole new world so here we are what 8 years later how many years later was 2016 this is 2024 and we're having to deal with this person who has absolutely no respect for women they are arm candy and he making such remarks of what well she's not my type or the one I the recent one which was really kind of bizarre was she's not the chosen one but the bottom line is he doesn't understand he's a sexual predator and he does not understand the psychological damage that somebody like that does and this is important and getting the Supreme Court packed so that they change and pass dos has meant that the women of America are going to doubly suffer and this is not acceptable this is not acceptable so I'm here to say we just cannot allow this person back in the White House and for their experience I'd like to turn this the platform over to a pen thank you so much thank you so much Jessica um good afternoon my name is Amanda zeroski and I live in Austin Texas my friend Caitlyn Joshua and I are here today to speak on behalf of the more than one in three women impacted by Trump's extreme abort abortion bands as Jessica so powerfully shared Trump does not respect women he doesn't trust us to make the choices that are best for our health our family or our lives and that has had devastating consequences for women all across our country including me in the spring of 2022 my husband Josh and I learned I was pregnant with our first baby a girl we were over the moon and my first trimester was smooth sailing but then suddenly at 18 weeks I suffered catastrophic complications my servic and there was no way to safely reverse course so we were with 100% certainty going to lose our baby girl we were devastated what I needed at that point was an abortion so I could safely and with dignity deliver my daughter and begin the healing process both physically and emotionally but unfortunately this was postro Texas and the near total abortion ban had gone into effect just 2 days after my water broke ending the pregnancy would have been considered an illegal abortion my doctor would be at risk of loss of her license and even jail time so I was told to wait until I got so sick that my life was considered in danger which is one of the rare exceptions in Texas where a doctor can actually intervene so it took 3 days and a near-death crash into septic shock before I could get the healthcare that I desperately needed after stabilizing my vitals enough to deliver our baby Willow I crashed again with another bout of sepsis and was transferred to the ICU I was there for 3 days and my family flew in from across the country for fear that I wouldn't make it through the night but it was in that dark and lonely hospital room that I realized I was actually lucky I lived I knew others might not be Lu was nothing short of barbaric and it didn't need to happen but it did because of Donald Trump and his allies who continuously brag about killing roie Wade it is Unthinkable to me that anyone could cheer on the cruel abortion bands that nearly cost me my life but they do and what's more Trump has said that there should be some form of punishment for women who have an abortion women like me and Caitlyn tragically my story is not unique I am one of many women whose life has been put at risk because of Trump's abortion bans women across our country have been told that we're not sick enough to receive healthc care we've been turned away from hospitals we've been found collapsed on bathroom floors after nearly hemorrhaging to death we have been robbed of our right to grieve our miscarriages and our pain and told to flee across state borders in the hope of receiving basic healthare I'm just one of these women my husband Josh and I are now desperately trying to start a family now through IVF and earlier this year we watched in complete Terror as the Alabama Supreme Court issued a decision that instantly halted ibf services in that state it's absolutely gut-wrenching and it's only happening because of Donald Trump and his policies that's why we need to defeat Trump we must elect vice president Harris and Governor walls they are fighting for Reproductive freedom and they won't stop until they restore the protections of grow so that people in every state have access to the safe healthare they deserve the stakes of this election could not be hired for our lives and for our future thank you I'll now turn it over to my friend Caitlyn Joshua good afternoon my name is kayn Joshua and I'm from Louisiana I'm here today to speak about the stakes of this election for Reproductive freedom and the threat of second term of trump poses just weeks following the overturn of roie Wade in 2022 my husband Lon and I were thrilled to find out I was pregnant our daughter was four at the time and we thought it was the perfect time to have a second baby but Louisiana's abortion band imp ped my pregnancy from the very start when I called to schedule my first prenatal appointment I was told I would have to wait an entire month I asked on the phone is this because of what I think and they said yes because of the abortion ban prenatal appointments were being scheduled later when miscarriages are less common to avoid medical potential medical legal liability for medical providers early on unlike during my first pregnancy I experienced mild cramping and spotting then at around 11 weeks just 1 week before my first prenatal appointment I started experiencing major blood loss and pain worse than child birth my husband was at work so I drove myself to the local emergency room there the medical team evaluated me and told me that my fetus had completely stopped growing I realized I was having a miscarriage but because of the state's abortion ban the healthcare team was afraid to tell me what was happening they sent me home saying they would pray for me the next day the bleeding and pain got worse after being turned away the previous day I met my mom and H husband at a different hospital I was losing so much blood at this time the security guard put me in a wheelchair the standard treatment for a miscarriage for anyone that doesn't know what I was experiencing in that moment is exactly the same as abortion care yet in the second hospital I was told by the staff we're not doing that right now and to go home and wait ultimately it took me weeks for me to pass that pregnancy at home and I was absolutely terrified this experience has made me see how black women die at alarming rates in this country I've received hundreds of letters from women across Louisiana who have had similar experiences and we know this is happening in States across the country because of abortion bands Physicians simply cannot practice medicine based on their training and expertise we're simply asking for the most basic level of maternal health care but because of Donald Trump we are being denied that basic level of care Donald Trump is responsible for overturning of Robi Wade he brags about unleashing these extreme abortion bands across the country and calls them a beautiful thing to watch he has said women should be punished for having an abortion and that states have a a right to monitor women's pregnancies to enforce those laws and he has no plans to stop there Donald Trump says he would like to leave the way and passing a nationwide abortion B no state would be safe if that happened that's why I'm doing everything I can to defeat Donald Trump and elect vice president Harris and Governor Tim Walls they are Fighters for Reproductive freedom and they won't rest until they restore a reproductive freedom in this country and ensure people in every single state have access to the care they need the safe could not be higher than this election yall it's on all of us to step in for the fight for our lives our freedoms and our futures depend on it thank you so much to Jessica and de Mana for sh and their stories today I'm now going to pass it over to Zach for question thanks all again and we're going to take a few questions now um so um here question for Jess question for Jessica um what was going through your mind when you heard Trump's comments on Friday about your I must admit I did laugh um it it's it's a little spooky and a little bit difficult to do process uh he does seem to be kind of obsessed but of here I am please are you considering filing a defamation lawsuit against the former president well we're considering a number of options because of his latest remarks but no decision has been made at this time I I see you here today like very very strong and standing in front of this building and I remember a year ago you kind of came out of testimony like a little nervous and you said it was comfortable to tell it you wouldn't want to tell the story again was uncomfortable um so what kind of inspir come here today well during a court case sitting in a room with a judge and a jury it's a jury of your peers and you're telling a story that makes everybody uncomfortable um it's it's different when you're either telling friends or you're telling your family although it was difficult for my son but for a a gathering of people then it is a little bit easier but in the in the court case you're on your medal you want to make sure that what you're saying is the absolute truth because the jury knows when you're L have the AR campaign are you a surrogate no not at all so who's paying for this whole event I mean you didn't no Financial this at all okay last question we have time for one more sorry ask we've heard from E car and we heard of the trial about after Trump has inspired her that she experienced an increase in Deb threats is that anything that you can relate to and he says things like he said on Friday after I don't have any Internet face book presence so I have not ever experienced any threats in fact I've only received not only from New York people but the people who live in the town that I now live in I have received nothing but a thank you and the comment that you're so brave which is enough to put the fear of God into you but the the bottom line is just about every woman has experienced and probably some men has experienced some physical sexual aggression in their life in their work in their home they do not forget and they do not they go on with their lives but it it's never the same all right thank you all so much for being here we really appreciate it