New York psychologist Larissa Portnoff accused Trump of abusing her as a child. Here's what we know

The White House denied the allegations, saying the president has never met Portnoff. Published Nov. 3, 2026 The claim that U.S. President Donald Trump sexually abused a New York psychologist when she was a minor, starting from 8 years old, is still under investigation. The rumor circulated after Dr. Larissa Portnoff, a licensed psychologist in New York state, claimed on Instagram that Trump had targeted her in "sexually exploitative ways," starting when she was around 8 years old. It was not possible to independently verify Portnoff's abuse and intimidation allegations against Trump and others in what she described as "his inner circle," including tech entrepreneur Elon Musk. Portnoff said she initially made the allegations anonymously, meaning they were not public records. Portnoff's allegations have not been tried in a court of law, as of this writing. Based on the currently available evidence, Snopes is unable to rate the allegations as true or false. White House spokesperson Lauren Bis categorically denied Portnoff's allegations, saying in an email on Nov. 2, "President Trump has never even met or heard of this woman." Snopes will update this report if, or when, additional information surfaces. We contacted Portnoff for more information about when the alleged abuse took place and when and where she initially reported it. We also contacted Musk to ask about Portnoff's allegation that he approached her and her friends. We await replies to our queries. In November, a claim circulated online that U.S. President Donald Trump sexually abused a New York psychologist when she was a minor, starting at 8 years old. For example, on Nov. 2, one X user shared a video (archived) showing the woman in question, Dr. Larissa Portnoff, speaking to camera. The X user wrote: NOVEMBER SURPRISE. Former Miss Teen USA, Dr. Larissa Portnoff, just came out with disgusting, disturbing allegations against Donald Trump. Portnoff is a highly respected New York–based clinical psychologist and clinical director of New York Psychology Practice, She earned her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Columbia University. Every republican running tomorrow needs to get on record as to whether they support Donald Trump's attacks on this poor woman. Overlaid text on the footage reads, "TRUMP CHILD VICTIM 8, 10, 12 & 16YRS EXPLOITED BY DONALD TRUMP AND THE ABUSE CONTINUES WATCH THIS" The recording also circulated on Facebook (archived), and Snopes readers contacted us about the claim. Portnoff, who is a licensed psychologist in New York state, uploaded the video (archived) to her Instagram account on Oct. 30. Starting at the 27-second mark, she says: I was one of the child victims of Donald Trump, beginning when I was around 8 years old, and it became worse when when I was around 10 years old. Then went from 10, 11, until I was around 12, and then it finally stopped, and then I was targeted again when I was 16 and 17 years old. It was not possible to independently verify the truth of Portnoff's allegations of abuse and intimidation against Trump and others in what she described in the video as "his inner circle." In a separate Instagram post (archived), Portnoff claimed tech entrepreneur Elon Musk was among those who "repeatedly approached" Portnoff and her friends. Portnoff said she originally made the abuse allegation against Trump anonymously, using the common placeholder name Jane Doe. Therefore, the allegation is not public record and, as such, it was not possible to verify which police force or other authority is investigating her claims, if at all, or what, exactly, Portnoff has alleged. Additionally, her allegations have not been tried in a court of law, as of this writing. Given all of the above, Snopes is unable to rate the allegations as true or false. White House spokesperson Lauren Bis categorically denied Portnoff's claims, saying via email on Nov. 2: These are false and slanderous allegations. President Trump has never even met or heard of this woman. This is clearly an attempt by the Democrats to distract from their disastrous socialist agenda. Snopes contacted Portnoff for more information about when the alleged abuse happened and who she had previously reported it to. We also asked Musk, through SpaceX, for comment on Portnoff's allegations that he had sought to intimidate her by approaching her and her friends. We await replies to our queries. What Portnoff said Portnoff described the abuse she suffered as a child and teen as (time code 00:48) "a pedophile ring," and said Trump "very specifically targeted [her] repeatedly in very sexually exploitative ways." She said (time code 01:07) she has had a number of interactions with Trump and people from his "inner circle" that were "inappropriate, abusive, and constitute sexual exploitation." Portnoff additionally said (time code 01:14) Trump and his "inner circle" continued to intimidate her into adulthood. For example, she said Trump reached out to her through a "political fixer" and asked her to attend the Sept. 11, 2025, New York Yankees game in New York City and a private dinner. Portnoff later posted a screenshot (archived) of a conversation purportedly with the alleged fixer. Snopes has not independently verified the authenticity of that screenshot. She also accused Trump of having illegally tracked down her home address and "sealed records" to discern her identity from her anonymous complaint and to intimidate her (time code 02:06). Portnoff said (time code 02:38), "This must stop. It's done. I'm in my 30s now. The fact that you've done this to me for three decades is just inhumane." Portnoff didn't say when or where the alleged abuse happened. She wrote in a different post (archived) that she is writing a book "about a child beauty queen from 1996," titled, "Jane Doe," the same placeholder name she used for her alleged complaint. Portnoff tagged the Miss Teen USA pageant in her post about the "Jane Doe" book. Trump bought Miss Universe, which included the Miss Teen pageant, in 1996 and part-owned it with NBC until 2015. It is unclear whether the "1996" in Portnoff's Instagram post is a reference to the year the alleged abuse started, Portnoff's year of birth, or something else. If Portnoff was 39 years old in 2026 (the oldest she could be while still being "in her 30s") she would have turned 9 years old in 1996, which aligns with her original claim that she was "around 8 years old" when the alleged abuse by Trump started. However, Portnoff could not have been a teenager, and thus could not have been eligible for the Miss Teen pageant in 1996, if she is in her 30s in 2026. Allegation follows report claiming Trump conspired with Epstein Portnoff's allegations came days after the House Judiciary Committee Democrats released a report arguing that Trump should be investigated as a co-conspirator with Jeffrey Epstein to traffic and abuse young women in the 1990s. The committee based its recommendation on allegations from the accounts of 11 women, including five who said Trump raped or sexually assaulted them. Snopes previously reported on rape allegations by Béatrice Keul, a former Miss Switzerland pageant contestant, detailed in the committee's report. According to PBS' reporting, at least four Miss Teen USA participants have previously accused Trump of walking in on them while they were changing, and 16 women, overall, have made allegations of inappropriate conduct. A Buzzfeed report from 2016 cites five former pageant contestants who remembered Trump walking into the Miss Teen USA changing rooms, with contestants as young as 15 years old, during the years he owned the pageant. Trump reportedly denied the allegations of inappropriate conduct that PBS wrote about. Bis also denied the allegations made by the 11 women featured in the House Committee on the Judiciary report. It is unclear whether Portnoff was one of the women featured, under a different name. For further reading, Snopes previously investigated whether "Katie Johnson," a woman who allegedly accused Trump of raping her when she was 13, had been arrested. Sources 'All the Assault Allegations against Donald Trump, Recapped'. PBS, 21 June 2019, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/assault-allegations-donald-trump-recapped.Gass, Nick, and Alex Werpin. 'Trump Buys out NBC's Stake in Miss Universe'. Politico, 11 Sept. 2015, https://www.politico.com/story/2015/09/donald-trump-miss-universe-buy-nbc-stake-213555.'John Doe'. Wikipedia, 30 Oct. 2026. Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Doe&oldid=1382812236.Judge Homers Twice to Tie DiMaggio on Yankees List in 9-3 Win over Tigers. ESPN, 12 Sept. 2026, https://www.espn.com/mlb/game/_/gameId/401697100/tigers-yankees.Online Registration Renewal | Office of the Professions. https://eservices.nysed.gov/professions/verification-search?licenseNumber=025593&professionCode=068. Accessed 2 Nov. 2026.Testa, Kendall Taggart, Jessica Garrison, Jessica. 'Teen Beauty Queens Say Trump Walked In On Them Changing'. BuzzFeed News, 12 Oct. 2016, https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/kendalltaggart/teen-beauty-queens-say-trump-walked-in-on-them-changing.'"We Have Certain Things in Common, Jeffrey": The Case Against Donald Trump Emerging in the Epstein Files and DOJ's Desperate Efforts to Cover It Up'. House Judiciary Committee Democrats, 26 Oct. 2026, https://democrats-judiciary.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/democrats-judiciary.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/2026-10.hjc-dems-staff-report-epstein-and-trump.pdf. By Laerke Christensen Laerke Christensen is a journalist based in London, England, with expertise in OSINT reporting. Article Tags