Donald Trump now says he humiliates and demeans women for "entertainment." Interviewed by the local NBC station in Las Vegas, he said of his previous use of demeaning names for particular women, their body shapes, and sexuality "a lot of this is done in the entertainment business," "for the purpose of entertainment," "but nobody has more respect for women than I do."
Once again, we see his answer doesn't fit the facts. Trump's use of labels for women ("Miss Piggly, Miss Housekeeping"), his slurs ("pigs, slobs, and dogs," "absolute worst") and intimidation of women through attacks that involve their bodily functions ("bleeding coming from wherever") began long before he was a regular on television or a star of his own show--and have continued throughout his Presidential campaign. The most recent attack on a former Miss Universe went on for a week and made false claims of a sex tape in a slander against her character. She responded that she has direct knowledge of Trump's racism, but did not want to cite specific examples that might cause pain in the black community.
He previously expressed his objectification of women to Vanity Fair “Honestly, when I bought [Miss Universe], the bathing suits got smaller and the heels got higher and the ratings went up,” he boasted.
The most important fact Trump's answer misses is the humiliation of women in public through personal, verbal attacks is not considered by media as entertainment (except on Rush Limbaugh). No show, comedy or drama, going back before the show of comedienne of Roseanne Barr in 1988 (ending in 1997) uses language considered demeaning as a theme for laughs and giggles.
The fact is Trump's ugly trolling of women, day after day, is not fun. Whether it be a former Miss Universe, a Fox news host, a media mogul, a noted singer, New York Times columnists, all Muslim women, or a United Methodist preacher in Flint, or his assertion that women who have abortions must be punished, his pervasive inability to show respect for women with his words betrays his claims of recognizing women for their abilities and achievements or respecting their rights
He doe.s not celebrate differences among women. The ubiquity of his insults and harsh, hurtful statements demonstrate women, individually and as a group, have much to fear from a Trump Presidency. His attitudes not only hurt women--they hurt America. The biggest impact might come in foreign policy, where women are deeply engaged in international questions of trade, war, humanitarian aid, and development assistance, from health to education. The next areas of major impact include wages and healthcare. His outlook could possibly affect the children of America.
If Trump thinks his derogatory conduct toward women is fun, he should remain in the industry which he claims is part of its substance. His misogyny and harassment has no place in the halls of power in our government and Trump has demonstrated he cannot let go his views that diminish women and repulse women through scorn.
