Ex Miss Switzerland accuses Trump of rape

Former model and Miss Switzerland Beatrice Keul has accused US President Donald Trump of rape, according to a report released Monday by Democratic members of the US House of Representatives.

The report alleges that Keul was sexually harassed and later raped by Trump during a meeting at New York’s Plaza Hotel in November 1993. The White House has denied the allegations.

According to British newspaper The Telegraph, the report examines convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes and his alleged links to Trump. It summarises the accounts of five women who have accused Trump of rape or sexual misconduct.

Keul reportedly told Democratic committee staff in several interviews over a number of weeks that she met Trump at a beauty pageant-related event at the Plaza Hotel when she was 24. Trump owned the hotel at the time.

She alleged that Trump offered to arrange a visa for her and secure her admission to New York University, telling her, “I will take care of you.”

According to the report, Epstein approached Keul shortly after her conversation with Trump, introduced himself as Trump’s “best friend” and invited her to a party at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. Epstein allegedly told her, “We have lots of parties with Don.”

Trump has said, he ended his friendship with Epstein long before becoming aware of his criminal activities. He has repeatedly described Epstein as a “pervert” and claimed that he had barred him from Mar-a-Lago.

The report further alleges that a Trump representative later invited Keul to meet him on an upper floor of the Plaza Hotel. According to Keul’s account, Trump grabbed her from behind and raped her after she entered the room. She alleged that her clothes were torn and that she suffered bleeding and bruises.

Keul reportedly described the incident as “brutal”. She alleged that after the assault, Trump sat her on the edge of a bed and again promised to help her obtain a visa and admission to New York University. He also allegedly pressured her to remain silent, saying, “The show must go on.”

Keul first made allegations publicly in October 2024, saying Trump had sexually assaulted her at the Plaza Hotel in 1993. At the time, she told the Daily Mail that Trump had kissed her on the lips and neck, tried to lift her clothes and touched her body.

However, she said, then that the encounter had not gone further. She recalled telling him, “Let’s talk first,” or words to that effect, after which he slowed down. The former model, who is 6 feet 1 inch tall, suggested that her height may have helped prevent the alleged attack from escalating.

The Daily Mail also reported that a longtime friend of Keul said she had told him about Trump’s unwanted sexual behaviour nearly 20 years earlier. The friend claimed that her account had remained consistent over the years.

When Keul’s allegations emerged in 2024, then-White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt described them as “fake”. A White House spokesperson has also rejected the claims in the latest report, saying Trump could not be held responsible for anything related to Epstein and had been “completely exonerated” on the matter.

The spokesperson described the report as a desperate attempt by “unhinged Democrats” to divert public attention from what the administration called Trump’s historic achievements and the growing political strength of Republicans.

The report was released just a week before the US midterm elections. According to the report, Republicans are facing political pressure over the administration’s handling of the release of Epstein-related files, as well as rising inflation and energy prices linked to the war with Iran.

Trump is not a candidate in the midterm elections. However, controversy over his administration’s handling of the Epstein files and economic pressures associated with the war with Iran have become challenges for Republican candidates.

The allegations against Trump remain claims presented in the Democrats’ report and should not be treated as findings proven in court. The White House has denied them.

-MT