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31 Times Trump Has Dismissed Women This Election
Ever since Hillary Clinton officially threw her hat into the ring as a candidate for the 2016 presidential election last spring, it's been clear that this was going to be a big year for women and women's issues. I don't think anyone knew exactly how big, however, until we found out who the Republican nominee was going to be. Of all of the real estate moguls in all the world, surely few have a longer record of sexism and misogyny than Donald Trump. Now, as a continuation of that, Trump has spent the whole election cycle dismissing women over and over.
As soon as I say that, I'm sure everyone reading this will have a few things jump to mind. The list of his dismissals could probably go on for several lifetimes. With him, it's beyond just attacking his (female) opponent. It's a galaxy removed from defending conservative policy positions that work against women. Trump has put himself in a realm entirely of his own — and as a woman myself, I want to stay as far away from that realm as possible.
Now, a warning to keep your gag reflex under check, as below you will find a list of 31 times that Donald Trump has dismissed women in this election alone.
1. "Who Is Doing The Raping?"
We all remember how the opening speech to Trump's whole campaign included a now-famous line asserting that many Mexican immigrants were rapists. In a later conversation about the speech, the reporter noted that the stories he had been citing to back up the comment were about the victims of sexual assault, without regard to those who had assaulted them. Trump ignored those women's part of the story entirely, choosing instead to press forward in his baseless attack on Mexican immigrants.
2. Attacking Carly Fiorina
Carly Fiorina was hardly the perfect candidate for president, but instead of going after her on the issues or on her qualifications, Trump went straight for her appearance, saying "Look at that face! Would anyone vote for that?"
3. Saying Clinton Got "Schlonged"
After saying that Clinton "got schlonged" in the 2008 Democratic primaries, Trump took to Twitter to defend himself, saying that it was a normal word to use to mean "defeat." In a linguistic investigation into the subject, however, it becomes clear that the word is used exclusively to refer to the male genitalia.
4. Going On And On About Rosie O'Donnell
Trump's ongoing attacks on Rosie O'Donnell might have slipped to the back burner if he hadn't brought them up again at the first presidential debate. Not only did he get in a Twitter feud with her, but he also unnecessarily reminded us of his gratuitous bullying in the Twitter feud he had with her.
5. The Megyn Kelly Saga
After one of the Republic primary debates, Trump believed that Fox News reporter Megyn Kelly had unfairly targeted him. In what seemed to everyone listening to be a comment insinuating that Kelly was on her period, Trump said that Kelly had "blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever." Trump, of course, denied that he meant that and claimed that he was referring to her nose, but the comment speaks for itself.
6. Employing Fewer Women Than Men
Based on a financial report he released in May, it became clear that the Trump campaign staff was 75 percent men. The Clinton campaign staff, on the other hand, was much bigger than Trump's and employed 51 percent women.
7. Needlessly Insulting Heidi Cruz
Trump's decision to retweet an unflattering image of Ted Cruz's wife Heidi juxtaposed with an airbrushed image of Melania Trump as an attack against Cruz was indefensible. The fact that he hasn't decided to delete it, however, makes even less sense.
8. Demeaning Clinton For Going To The Bathroom
Every woman ever — and probably every man who's ever spent time around a woman — knows that it takes women longer to pee than men. Trump, however, was highly bothered by that fact after one of the Democratic primary debates, and can't seem to think about the prospect of women going to the bathroom without complaining that it's "too disgusting" to even consider. This falls squarely into the list of things that really never needed to be news, but became news because Trump said something wildly offensive.
9. Commenting On A Washington Post Reporter's Appearance
Following his meeting with the editorial board of The Washington Post, Trump casually called one of the female reporters "beautiful" after she thanked him for answering her questions. You know, because that's a totally normal way to treat someone in a professional setting, and he definitely did it to all of her male colleagues as well (not).
10. Saying Women Should Be Punished For Getting Abortions
In an interview with MSNBC's Chris Matthews, Trump said that women who receive abortions should be punished. He took it back soon after, but only after the criticism had already started to roll in.
11. Castigating Huma Abedin For Anthony Weiner's Behavior
In one of his many attacks about Clinton's email issues, Trump implied that Clinton's mistake was especially bad because her longtime friend and current campaign vice chairman Huma Abedin also would have had access to the emails, which supposedly meant that Abedin's husband Anthony Weiner (they have since recently separated) also would have had access to the emails. Abedin, of course, has a professional life totally separate from that of her husband, and her trustworthiness should not be called into question because of him.
12. Going After Michelle Fields
Trump's former campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, was charged with battery after violently pulling then-Breitbart reporter Michelle Fields away from the Republican nominee. This apparently angered Trump, who proceeded to attack Fields on Twitter and claim that she had lied — despite video evidence backing up her story.
13. Being Accused Of Sex Discrimination In His Campaign
One of Trump's staffers in Iowa filed a complaint with the Davenport Civil Rights Commission, saying that she had been paid less than men with the same job and given fewer responsibilities despite her hard work. Trump responded by saying that he didn't know her, but that he had been told that she was a terrible employee. It is of no surprise to anyone, of course, that Donald Trump does not support equal pay for women.
14. Attacking Clinton's Health And Stamina
Clinton had already released legitimate health records, and although Trump himself had not (he has since), he still baited both the media and his supporters by saying that Clinton had some serious health condition that she needed to come clean about.
15. Expelling A Baby From A Campaign Event
Trump reached cartoonish levels of villainy when he came up against a mother with a crying baby at one of his rallies. As the mother tried to quiet her child, Trump first said that he loved the baby, and then insisted that they leave. Trump proudly has never had to take care of his own children, though, so it's hardly surprising that he wouldn't be able to empathize with the woman in question.
16. Insulting Morning Joe's Mika Brzezinski
In a story that has become all too familiar, Morning Joe's Mika Brzezinski criticized Trump repeatedly, and so Trump lashed out on Twitter with a series of personal insults. As every normal politician does.
17. Supporting Defunding Planned Parenthood
Trump, it must be said, is actually more supportive of Planned Parenthood than many of his fellow Republicans. Still, he stands by the idea that the organization should not receive funding if they continue to provide abortions.
18. Denying Jill Harth's Allegations
Makeup artist Jill Harth, who once had a business relationship with Trump, publicly claimed that Trump had sexually assaulted her multiple times. Trump denies the allegations.
19. Saying Clinton Doesn't Have A Presidential Look
If Clinton were to win the White House in November, she would indeed look different than all of the other presidents before her. She is the first female candidate for a major party, after all. This does not, however, disqualify her to hold office, as Donald Trump has implied.
20. Calling Maureen Dowd "A Neurotic Dope"
In another case of Trump lashing out at someone who has criticized him, Trump called New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd "wacky" and "a neurotic dope" after she published a number of columns that he did not find to his liking.
21. Saying That His Supreme Court Picks Would Have To Be Pro-Life
In another gift to the Christian conservative wing of his party, Trump said that being pro-life would be a litmus test for any of his potential Supreme Court nominees. If he became president and was able to fill the vacant Supreme Court seat and one other, the possibility of Roe v. Wade being overturned would become that much more likely.
22. Hitting Clinton With The Lowest Possible Insult
Trump was wise enough to remove that tweet, but as everyone knows, once you put something out on the internet, it's out there forever.
23. Terrorizing Alicia Machado
Trump's late night post-debate ranting about former Miss Universe Alicia Machado is one of the most curious moments of this whole very curious election cycle. There was nothing he could gain from attacking her, and yet he still did it, and then refused to back down. I imagine that few people will feel as much glee in voting against him as she will — along with the other women mentioned in this article, of course.
24. Not Understanding Sexual Harassment
As the whole issue of Roger Ailes sexually harassing women over at Fox News bubbled to the surface of news coverage, someone asked Trump what he thought his daughter Ivanka Trump should do if she were to find herself in that situation. He said that she should switch companies or careers. This is evidence of so many problems — his insane privilege and a lack of empathy for women experiencing sexual harassment on various levels every day certainly among them.
25. Accusing Khizr Khan Of Not Allowing Ghazala Khan To Speak
After the parents of a Muslim solider killed in Iraq spoke at the Democratic National Convention, Trump theorized that the mother on stage, Ghazala Khan, had not been allowed to speak by her husband, Khizr Khan, who had done all of the talking. Mrs. Khan forcefully denied this, saying that talking about her son would simply have been too difficult — a line of reasoning that makes perfect sense to anyone with a heart.
26. Bringing Up Bill Clinton's Sexual Exploits
Fascinating though it is that Trump, a man on his third wife, would attack Hillary Clinton for staying with her husband through his infidelities, Bill Clinton's sexual exploits have nothing to do with Hillary Clinton's political acumen or her fitness for the job. None. Period. Attacking her for things her husband done is both sexist and very revealing of the double standard that exists for men and women in this regard.
27. Calling Clinton Weak
One of Trump's favorite ways to insult Clinton is to call her weak — whether it's she herself or her foreign or domestic policy positions. Given that she's the first woman with a real chance to win the presidency, those are particularly loaded words.
28. Choosing Mike Pence As His Running Mate
Tim Kaine put it best during the VP debate when, in a conversation about abortion rights, he asked Pence the following: "Why don't you trust women?" As a congressman and governor, Pence has been spectacularly anti-woman when it comes to reproductive rights, sexual health, equal pay, and even women serving in the military — a point that he argued by saying that the beloved Disney movie Mulan was actual liberal propaganda. No, really, he did that.
29. Propagating The False Equivalency Between His Misdeeds And Clinton's
It would be a blatant lie to say that Clinton's campaign has not seen a fair number of scandals, some of them serious. But to put them on the same level as what Trump and his companies and campaign have done over the years is a serious case of false equivalence. They're just not on the same level, and the attacks would never hold if Clinton weren't being held to a much higher standard than her opponent. It's all too clear that a woman sporting Trump's background would never have been able to run, much less gain her party's nomination.
30. Defending Sexual Assault As "Locker Room Banter"
After what has turned into the campaign's biggest bombshell, Trump defended his disturbing comments about women from a 2005 appearance on Access Hollywood as "locker room banter." In the video, he describes in his own voice what most people can agree is blatant sexual assault, and he describes it proudly. He apologized for it, but the statement about locker room talk implies that it's a normal thing — which plenty of athletes have come out saying that it is not. I imagine it would be difficult to find a woman who has not experienced some variety of sexual harassment or sexual assault, and I think I speak for all of us when I say that the men who do that to us should never, ever come as close to the American presidency as Donald Trump is now.
31. Claiming That No One Respects Women As Much As Him
That's right, Donald — no one respects women as much as you, except for the billions of men who have never done any of the things outlined above. Of all of the nasty moments from the second presidential debate, nothing was harder to hear than when Trump said that "No one has more respect for women than I do." As difficult as it was for me, a woman, to listen to that, it's actually more of an insult to all the men I know and respect and love — men who would never consider doing or saying the things that Trump apparently finds to be commonplace. There's nothing else to say here. Trump has said enough, and hopefully enough of us have been listening.
