WEST PALM BEACH — (CNN) Donald Trump on Thursday slammed “vicious” reports that he had allegedly groped women, saying they were were “pure fiction,” “outright lies” and promised to provide evidence to prove they were untrue.
“These claims are all fabricated. They’re pure fiction and outright lies. These events never ever happened,” Trump said during a rally in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Trump is battling allegations that came to light Wednesday after two women told The New York Times in a report that the Republican presidential nominee touched them inappropriately, allegations that were quickly followed by a similar claim in People Magazine.
CNN has not yet independently confirmed either The New York Times or People Magazine accounts. The Trump campaign described the entire Times article as a “fiction” that amounted to “character assassination.”
A Trump attorney also issued an open letter to The Times demanding an immediate retraction and apology. The Trump campaign told People magazine: “This never happened. There is no merit or veracity to this fabricated story.”
Trump said Thursday the allegations are signs of media bias against him, and he repeated a statement his campaign made Wednesday that he plans to sue the Times.
“Let’s be clear on one thing,” Trump said. “The corporate media in our country is no longer involved in journalism, they’re a political special interest no different than any lobbyist or financial entity with a total political agenda and the agenda is not for you, it’s for themselves. And their agenda is to elect Crooked Hillary Clinton at any cost, at any price, no matter how many lives they destroy.”
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