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Who is Charles Herbster? Trump defends GOP candidate accused of groping EIGHT women!

As many as eight women, including a state senator, accused Herbster of touching them inappropriately

At a rally in Nebraska on Sunday, May 1, former President Donald Trump tried to convince voters to elect Charles Herbster, a Republican gubernatorial candidate who has been accused of sexually assaulting numerous women. Herbster, an embattled local businessman, is now a Nebraska candidate for governor.

Nebraska Examiner reported last month that eight women, including a state senator, accused Herbster of touching them inappropriately. However, at the rally, held in Greenwood, Nebraska, just northeast of Lincoln, Trump defended Herbster. "He's been maligned. He's been badly maligned and it's a shame," Trump said. "That's why I came out here. I defend people when I know they're good." "He's a good man. He was with us from the beginning. He's been my friend for 30 years, he's an innocent human being," Trump said. 

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"Charles W. Herbster has been a tremendous supporter of America First and Make America Great Again, right from the beginning," Trump said in his endorsement. "He is running for governor of the great state of Nebraska and will do a fantastic job. A proud native of Nebraska, Charles is an extraordinarily successful businessman who will fight for our farmers and ranchers, support our military and vets, and protect and defend your under siege Second Amendment rights."

Who is Charles Herbster?

Herbster is an agribusiness executive, cattle producer, political donor, and politician. He was an agriculture advisor and chairman of Trump's agriculture and rural advisory committee during the Donald Trump 2020 presidential campaign.

Born in Falls City, Nebraska, Herbster, now in his 60s, graduated from Falls City High School and later attended the University of Nebraska–Lincoln for two years. However, after his mother's death, he dropped out and returned home. A conservative evangelical Christian, Herbster bought a one-year-old Angus bull for $2.14 million at a North Dakota auction. He is also known for having bought another bull for $1.5 million in a different auction.

In April 2022, the Nebraska Examiner published a report claiming Nebraska state senator Julie Slama and seven other women accused Herbster of forcibly kissing or groping them. "He would go up to a group and introduce himself. Often wearing his signature cowboy hat and suit, he would extend a handshake to the men. But when young women reached out for a handshake, as well, on at least several occasions he pulled them into an embrace instead," the outlet wrote at the time. "Herbster, the CEO of Conklin Co. and now a frontrunner in the 2022 GOP primary race, sometimes went further, according to eight women who spoke with the Nebraska Examiner."

"During an event in 2019, for example, Republican State Sen. Julie Slama confirmed that as she walked by Herbster, he reached up her skirt, without her consent, and touched her inappropriately. The incident happened in the middle of a crowded ballroom at the Douglas County Republican Party’s annual Elephant Remembers dinner," the outlet added. "Another person attending the 2019 event saw Herbster reach up Slama’s skirt and had told the Examiner about it. That witness and two others said they saw Herbster grope another young woman on her buttocks at the same event."

"The women said Herbster groped them on their buttocks, outside of their clothes, during political events or beauty pageants. Each woman said she was grabbed, not inadvertently grazed, by Herbster. A seventh woman said Herbster once cornered her privately and kissed her forcibly," it continued. "All the incidents occurred between 2017 and this year, according to those involved. The women ranged in age from their late teens to mid-20s at the time of the incidents."

Herbster has maintained that he is innocent. He defended himself at the rally, saying, "They are trying to scare me out of this race and it's not going to happen. We are going to take back Nebraska."