GOPer Agrees With Trump About 'Nasty' Women

Donald Trump was roundly criticized for calling Hillary Clinton a “nasty woman” at the last presidential debate, and rightly so. Far from saying anything nasty, Clinton had simply accused Trump of attempting to circumvent certain tax payments, which Trump has admitted to doing. Nevertheless, some in the GOP are taking a hint from the Donald. On Thursday, a Republican congressman made comments about "nasty" women that, in all likelihood, will delight Trump and enrage anybody who isn’t an unabashed misogynist.

Texas Rep. Brian Babin made the comments in a radio interview with Alan Colmes, who asked him if he thought Trump’s “nasty woman” line was inappropriate. "Well, I'm a genteel Southerner,” Babin said, inaccurately. “I think sometimes a lady needs to be told when she's being nasty. I do.”

The comment is sexist enough that it almost speaks for itself, regardless of context. But the context makes it even worse, and is worth reviewing. Here’s the exact exchange Trump and Clinton had at the debate:

Clinton: I am on record as saying we need to put more money into Social Security Trust fund. That's part of my commitment to raise taxes on the wealthy. My Social Security payroll contribution will go up, as will Donald's, assuming he can't figure out how to get out of it, but what we want to do is —

Trump: Such a nasty woman.

Just to make sure the record is straight here, Trump flatly admitted at the second debate that he used a reported $916 million loss in 1995 to avoid paying federal income taxes for years afterwards. For Clinton to suggest that Trump would try and “figure out how to get out of” paying higher taxes under her plan is not “nasty.” She was predicting future behavior based on past behavior, which is perfectly logical and warranted — especially in a presidential campaign.

It’s clear that when Trump and Babin call Clinton “nasty,” what they are objecting to is a woman who, effectively and accurately, makes a man look bad. Babin’s comments that “a lady needs to be told when she’s being nasty” is arguably even more demeaning than what Trump said, but both comments reflect the same mindset: That good, “genteel” men need to keep women in line when they get too unruly, and especially if they say mean things about a powerful man.

That’s misogynistic enough on its own, and it's even more so given that Clinton was in no way being unruly or nasty. If Trump has made himself unpalatable to voters by casually admitting that he skirts tax payments whenever legally possible, that doesn’t suggest that Clinton is nasty. It doesn't say anything about Clinton, in fact. It merely suggests that Trump is a bad candidate.