Donald Trump has sure spent a lot of time saying that Mexicans are rapists and that Muslims are a threat to ‘making America Great Again’. After the Cologne attacks on New Year’s Eve 2015, Trump even blamed ‘migrants allowed to enter the country’ for Germany ‘going through massive attacks to its people’. Turns out, though, when it comes to predatory harassment and sexual assault of women, Trump’s your guy.
Because, in a previously unaired ‘hot mic’ moment, Trump is, on record, saying: ‘I moved on her and I failed. I’ll admit it. I did try and f*** her. She was married.’ about an unknown woman. It gets worse:
‘I moved on her like a bitch, but I couldn’t get there, and she was married. Then all of a sudden I see her, she’s now got the big, phony tits and everything. She’s totally changed her look.’
Trump was making the comments in a tourbus near the studios for Days of Our Lives, where he was due to make a cameo in 2005. This cameo was being promoted by Access Hollywood, hosted by Billy Bush (cousin of politician Jeb and former president George W) and Arianne Zucker, who Trump then turned his attentions to:
‘Yeah, that’s her. With the gold. I better use some Tic Tacs just in case I start kissing her. You know I’m automatically attracted to beautiful - I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star they let you do it. You can do anything.’
Bush sniggers, saying ‘whatever you want’, then Trump goes ‘Grab them by the pussy, you can do anything.’
There’s more, but you get the gist, don’t you?
The comments have been roundly condemned as boasts of sexual assault by not just feminists (these pieces are really worth a read) and those on the left, but by a third of senior Republicans, the very party that is meant to be fielding Trump as a candidate. They've retracted their support of him, with some calling for him to step down from the race.
While Trump apologized for ‘offence caused’, you know, that spiel thrown out by anyone who wants you to know that they’re sorry you’re so sensitive, his videotaped apology included an accusation leveled at his opponent, Hillary Clinton. Well, it’s more at Hillary’s husband, Bill.
Trump is not only saying his comments don't mean that much because there are bigger fish to fry, but is accusing Bill Clinton of abusing women, something he only ever seems to do when he can use it as an opportunity to have a go at Hillary. The accusations have a history and may have a legitimacy, but it stands to reason that Hillary certainly doesn’t have final say over what her husband’s penis does or has done. Instead of looking at why he made those comments - aged 58! - he is employing the ‘I know I am but what are you?’ defence/attack.
Going one step further, ahead of the presidential candidate debate, Trump held a panel with four women who accuse Bill Clinton of sexual assault, and broadcast it on Facebook Live. While these are serious allegations that must be handled sensitively, Trump is very new to defending women who’ve alleged sexual assault, pretty much using them and their stories as human shields.
While there has been much condemnation of Trump among previous supporters, including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Nigel Farage, interim leader of Ukip, has defended Trump, a man he’s been travelling to the US to cheerlead for.
Farage told Sky News that Trump is running to become President of the US, ‘not the Pope’ and that ‘Look, this is alpha male boasting. It's the kind of thing, if we are being honest, that men do. They sit around and have a drink and they talk like this. ‘By the way, quite a lot of women say things amongst themselves that they would not want to see on Fox News, or the front page of a newspaper. I'm not pretending it's good - it's ugly, it is ugly.’
It’s worse than ugly, it’s lecherous and hypocritical and, do you really have to be Pope to think that women shouldn’t be spoken about like that? You sure as hell shouldn’t be president. Trump’s appearance at the presidential debate was, sadly, not as much of a failure as expected. While polls say Hillary is up, focus groups said they were much more swayed by Donald, even though he spent much of the debate sniffing and following Hillary around on stage. You know, to show he can do what he want, where he wants.
Many are saying this is the end of Trump’s campaign. But he shows no signs of quitting. On the lighter side, wife Melania Trump turned up to the debate wearing a pussy-bow blouse, an obvious reference to the situation but surely something Trump is too ignorant to recognise. A sly dig at her husband, who, as well as the ‘pussy’ comments, is currently facing a hearing based on allegations of raping a 13-year-old?
The election campaign continues.
You might also be interested in:
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Meet The Young American Women Who Actually Support Donald Trump
Follow Sophie on Twitter @sophwilkinson
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.