Donald Trump Swiftly Condemned Over 'She's Not My Type' Defense Against Rape Allegations: 'So What If A Woman Is Your Type?'

President Donald Trump has sparked widespread outrage after denying serious rape allegations made against him by asserting that his accuser, writer E. Jean Carroll, is "not my type."

"I'll say it with great respect," the U.S. leader began, during an interview with The Hill at the White House on Monday. "Number one, she's not my type; number two, it never happened."

The president made the controversial comments after Carroll accused him of having attacked her at a Bergdorf Goodman store in Manhattan in the mid-1990s after they bumped into each other while shopping.

Carroll alleged that Trump had asked her for advice while buying lingerie for another woman and jokingly asked her to model it for him. The writer said Trump then pushed her up against a dressing room wall and forced himself on her. She said she was able to escape, however, after pushing him off her in a "colossal struggle" and running from the store.

The president has maintained that Carroll was "totally lying" about the alleged incident, asserting that he knows "nothing about this woman."

Trump's suggestion, however, that the incident could not have happened because Carroll is not his "type" has earned the U.S. leader swift condemnation, with high-profile voices across the country and abroad questioning "what kind of man" responds to a rape allegation with "she's not my type?"

That was the question on Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and filmmaker Douglas A. Blackmon's mind, with Blackmon commenting: "it's astounding that even a person as coarse and unmannered as [Trump] doesn't realize the implications of his denial."

"So, what if a woman *is* your type..?" he asked.

What kind of man answers an allegation of rape with “she’s not my type”? It’s astounding that even a person as coarse and unmannered as ⁦@realDonaldTrump⁩ doesn’t realize the implications of his denial. So what if a woman *is* your type...? https://t.co/LKw4f54WBE — Douglas A. Blackmon (@douglasblackmon) June 25, 2019

Blackmon was one of many writers on Twitter to call out Trump over his response to Carroll's allegations.

"Ahhh, the old, 'she's not my type,' rape defense," prominent writer Roxane Gay wrote on Twitter. "There is no bottom to this endless void of bullshit," Gay put simply.

"You know whose defense of a rape allegation is, 'She's not my type?'" film director Billy Corben wrote. "A rapist."

Meanwhile, Wagatwe Wanjuki, a prominent advocate for sexual assault survivors, said Trump's comments point to a wider societal problem of conflating "rape and sex."

"Trump saying, 'she's not my type,' is a gross example of society's conflation of rape and sex," Wanjuki wrote.

Many have questioned how Trump supporters will be able to continue to back the U.S. leader, with writer and film critic Eric Snider writing: "I don't want to mince words here. You cannot be a good, moral person and also support a man (in any position) whose first response to a rape accusation is: 'She's not my type'."

Prominent British ethologist Richard Dawkins also questioned whether "even if she had been his type and he had raped her, would that have shaken the support of his well-named 'base'?"

As many have pointed out, this is not the first allegation of sexual misconduct to be made against the U.S. leader, with Trump embroiled in several controversies in the lead-up to his 2016 election.

"Don't just imagine a rapist who thinks 'she's not my type' is a compelling denial," said writer Seth Abramson, who has authored two books on the Trump-Russia scandal.

"Imagine a *serial* rapist who, prior to a presidential debate in 2016, convened a panel of *rape victims* with which to attack his opponent," he said, referring to Trump's decision to invite former President Bill Clinton's accusers to a previous debate with then-rival Hillary Clinton. "Never forget the sort of person we're talking about here," Abramson said.

While Trump has never been convicted of sexual misconduct, he has faced accusations of rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment, including non-consensual kissing and groping, dating as far back as the 1980s from at least 15 women. That group includes his former wife, Ivana Trump, who later recanted her claim.

In addition to facing numerous allegations of misconduct, Trump's 2016 campaign was nearly derailed after a 2005 recording of his appearing to brag about groping women without their consent surfaced.

"I'm automatically attracted to beautiful–I just start kissing them. It's like a magnet. Just kiss. I don't even wait," Trump said in the recording. "And when you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything," he said.

"The first time Trump was accused of rape, the defense was 'you can't rape your wife.' The second time Trump was accused of rape, the defense was 'she's not my type,'" writer and lawyer Jill Filipovic wrote on Twitter. "Maybe the conclusion is that he's a raging misogynist and we're all just accepting that as normal?"

Some prominent voices, including writer and producer Ben Wexler, have also pointed out that while Trump's "she's not my type" argument "is not an alibi against a rape allegation," Carroll did share clear physical similarities with Ivana Trump, who would have been married to Trump at the time the incident is alleged to have taken place.

1) “She’s not my type” is not an alibi against a rape accusation.

2) ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/N21ESuTVDg — Ben Wexler (@mrbenwexler) June 25, 2019

"Not only is Trump's pitiful first line of defense 'She's not my type' against E. Jean Carroll's rape allegation a tacit admission," another commenter, Grant Stern, wrote, but, "she actually IS Trump's type."

"Carroll was Miss Indiana. She is blonde," he said, adding: "Nothing's official until Trump lies and denies it."

In 2016, Trump made similar remarks to his comments about Carroll after being accused of having groped another accuser, Jessica Leeds, on a plane in the 1980s.

Addressing crowds at a rally, Trump had said Leeds "would not be my first choice."

Responding to Trump's comments, Carroll told CNN's Anderson Cooper on Monday night: "I love that I'm not his type."

"He's denied all 15 women who've come forward. He denies, he turns it around, he threatens and he attacks," she said.