WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and sexual harassment (all times local):

7:45 a.m.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (KEER'-sten JIHL'-uh-brand) says she interprets President Donald Trump's tweet aimed at her as "a sexual smear intended to silence me."

Trump tweeted on Tuesday that Gillibrand had once gone to his New York business office "begging" for a political contribution and — in Trump's words — "would do anything" to get it.

Trump's press secretary has said people who viewed the tweet as a sexual slur must have had their minds "in the gutter."

Gillibrand was asked on NBC's "Today" show whether she'd misread the meaning of Trump's tweet. Her answer: "No."

The New York Democrat added, "Well, certainly that's how I and many people read it."

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3:49 a.m.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand got a fight she wants after President Donald Trump lashed out at the New York Democrat in a tweet that claims she'd begged him for campaign contributions and would "do anything" for them.

Gillibrand is up for re-election next year and is considered a possible presidential contender in 2020. She's been an outspoken voice in the national debate over how to confront sexual assault and harassment. She's argued that the rules in institutions from Congress to Hollywood to the U.S. military are set to benefit the powerful and the favored at the expense of the vulnerable.