On the United States Justice Department’s website, sexual assault is defined as follows:
Sexual assault is any type of sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient. Falling under the definition of sexual assault are sexual activities as forced sexual intercourse, forcible sodomy, child molestation, incest, fondling, and attempted rape.
Just this past week, a tape was leaked of a 2005 conversation between Donald Trump and television personality Billy Bush in which Trump bragged, among other things, of forcibly kissing and groping women without their consent. The words he used to describe his actions were extremely vulgar, and I won’t repeat them here. Laughing with Bush, Trump said, “When you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.”
That is a crime. That is disgusting. And that is wrong. This is the Republican nominee for President of the United States boasting about committing sexual assault. I can’t truly find the words to express how utterly abhorrent I find these actions. Trump is unfit to be President, and he is unfit to call himself a man.
When asked to explain his words at Sunday night’s debate, Trump denied committing these actions and called the conversation merely “locker room talk,” crude, bawdy, but ultimately harmless.
But this wasn’t an isolated incident. This is just the latest in a long string of statements Trump has made about women – from calling a former Miss Universe “Ms. Piggy” to insulting Carly Fiorina’s appearance – that reveal the depth of his disregard for the opposite gender.
Trump tried to deflect criticism of his repugnant boasts by drawing attention to Bill Clinton’s marital indiscretions and castigating both Clintons for them. While I don’t dispute that there is a lot to answer for regarding Bill Clinton’s interactions with women, the idea that his actions somehow excuse Trump’s is outright absurd. Even children are taught the basic moral truism that two wrongs don’t make a right.
Since the release of the tape, many Republican officials have lined up to condemn the remarks – and several have withdrawn their endorsements of Trump. The GOP should have cut Trump loose long ago, but if this is what it takes to finally lance this cancer on our Party, then so be it.
I understand and share the distaste many of my fellow Republicans feel for Hillary Clinton. And I am not encouraging anyone to vote for her in November. But let’s face the facts here, all scientific polls show that Trump is virtually guaranteed to lose. The White House will host a Clinton once again. That’s reality.
What we must do as a Party is to condemn this embarrassment of a nominee. If we want to stand any chance of preserving our majorities in Congress and stymieing another four years of a liberal President, we have to concentrate on down-ballot races. Trump is an albatross around our Party’s neck, it’s time to be rid of him.
That’s the political justification. But if cynical calculation is our only motivation for disavowing Trump, then we have failed. Trump’s comments and actions are far beyond the pale. His behavior should be appalling to anyone, regardless of partisan affiliation. If he had any shred of dignity, he would drop out. But he won’t. He has consistently proven himself to be an immoral, egotistical coward who is incapable of truly admitting his own faults. With these latest comments, I don’t know how I could support or excuse Trump and meet the eyes of any woman – let alone my own mother or little sister.
It is past time we came to our senses. Trump is not worthy of any support.
