ColumnPerhaps you’ve heard about a little story that recently ran in the New York Times about how Donald Trump has (mis)treated women over the years. While that isn’t surprising, it sure is disturbing that this man is now the presumptive Republican nominee for president.
So, just how bad are some of the accusations against Trump? Well, they are at least just as bad as everything else he has said to the press and his supporters this year.
To get a good look at how Trump has treated women in private, the Times interviewed dozens of women who worked with, or for, Trump, women who dated him or knew him socially, and women and men who knew him since he was a teen. “In all, more than 50 interviews were conducted over the course of six weeks,” the Times reports.
Yeah, they went deep.
The dirt on Trump
Through its extensive research, the Times discovered that Trump has cultivated his “ladies’ man” status since military school. Through the years, his desire to be surrounded by women morphed into a desire to control women— a trait Trump most likely learned from his father, Fred Trump, who was, apparently, quite vocal about his traditional views on gender. And it’s that thought process that has probably caused Trump to do a lot of inappropriate things in many professional settings. Here’s just one example from the Times piece:
“He kissed me directly on the lips,” Temple Taggart, 1997 Miss Utah USA, says. “I thought, ‘Oh my God, gross.’ He was married to Marla Maples at the time. I think there were a few other girls that he kissed on the mouth. I was like ‘Wow, that’s inappropriate.’”
No shit.
Now, when the Times article broke, Trump swore he would sue the paper because of the piece, saying it was full of lies. But just like everything Trump says, he took it back and decided that all he really needs is an apology, which he most likely will never get because the Times didn’t do anything wrong. Trump has helped some women in their careers while also commenting on their physical appearance. A gross, familiar cocktail of sexism that many women are used to choking down. But just because we’re used to it doesn’t mean it’s right.
What’s up with his supporters?
So, why don’t these stories change Trump’s supporters’ opinions? Sure, Trump is quite popular with racists and white males who feel cozy thinking that they are superior to women and all minorities who reside in America. But Trump also has a lot of female supporters. I truly can not wrap my mind around how women can approve of a candidate who mocks women for menstruating, refers to his daughter as “sexy,” and who has been accused of rape.
Trump is not good for America and he definitely isn’t good for women. Hell, just look at the track record of a few of the judges—Pryor and Sykes—Trump said he would potentially nominate to the Supreme Court.
So, no matter what he says or how much he tries to walk back his sexist comments, he will always and forever be a misogynist.
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Image of Donald Trump via Shutterstock, Steve Lagreca