“It would be a pretty picture to see her on her knees” is not the kind of remark you want to hear from a future president.
And yet, Donald Trump continues to surprise.
At the GOP presidential debates on Fox News Thursday night, anchor Megyn Kelly asked Trump whether or not he was “part of the war on women” based on a tweet he had posted. The tweet involved telling a contestant on Celebrity Apprentice that she would look good on her knees.
Trump avoided the question, replying, “I think the big problem this country has is being politically correct… and honestly, Megyn, if you don’t like it, I’m sorry. I’ve been very nice to you, although I could probably maybe not be, based on the way you have treated me. But I wouldn’t do that.” Hmm, doesn’t sound like much of an apology.
“The questions to me were not nice. I didn’t think they were appropriate. And I thought Megyn behaved very badly, personally,” he later said about the debate.
Late Thursday night, Trump tweeted, “The biggest loser in the debate was @megynkelly,” and called her a “bimbo,” “overrated,” “angry,” and unprofessional, among a slew of other scathing insults. But he wasn’t finished.
Friday night, Trump told CNN’s Don Lemon, “You could see there was blood coming out of [Kelly’s] eyes… Blood coming out of her wherever” (insinuating that her “astonishingly biased” behavior was due to menstruation). He later tried to clear up the incident on Twitter, clarifying that the “whatever” to which he was referring was her nose.
Even if he was only talking about Kelly’s nose, shouldn’t a future president be more careful to watch his words? The misinterpretation of an offhand comment by the public is not uncommon, especially in presidential elections.
Unfortunately, this behavior is not out-of-the-blue for Trump. For years, Trump has pulled the “irrational woman” card to hide a bruised ego, often throwing out insults that attack the woman’s physical appearance. It’s been clear for a while that Trump is not on the side of the women—or, as Kelly puts it, Trump has joined “the war on women.”
In May 2012, he responded to an insult from singer Cher by tweeting at her, “@Cher should stop with the bad plastic surgery and nasty statement about good people running for office.”
And let’s not forget Trump’s 2006 battle with Rosie O’Donnell, where he called her a “fat pig” and said, “If you take a look at her, she’s a slob… If I were running The View, I’d fire Rosie. I’d look her right in that fat, ugly face of hers… We’re all a little chubby but Rosie’s just worse than most of us… Rosie is a very unattractive person.”
Worst of all, perhaps, was his tweet to Huffington Post Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief Arianna Huffington. Trump tweeted:
Yikes. And yet, feuds with Dan Rather, Ron Paul, and Danny Zuker featured no remarks about their physical appearances.
In 2010, a female contestant on The Apprentice told the New York Post, “So much of the boardroom discussion concerned the appearance of the female contestants—discussing the female contestants’ looks—who he found to be hot. He asked the men to rate the women.”
In 2012, Trump interrupted a female contestant on Celebrity Apprentice to remark, “You look very good, Aubrey, I have to say. Do you mind if I say? Is that sexist?” Sexist? Not exactly. Completely uncalled for when the woman is trying to discuss her job? Absolutely.
Trump also owned the Miss USA beauty pageant for 19 years (but was recently fired by NBC after his derogatory statements about immigrants). While the pageant asks women to answer questions regarding politics and values—a step in the right direction—it still features a swimsuit competition:
And let’s not forget that Trump cheated on his wife, Ivana, in the early ‘90s. Scumbag red flag.
The list goes on and on… and on and on. Trump seems to go out of his way to be demeaning, misogynist, and downright gross. Women everywhere would benefit from choosing a different candidate when the elections roll around in just a few short months. While it’s undeniable that Trump has a strong knowledge of business, he simply lacks the common sense (and common courtesy) we should be seeking in our next president. Let’s leave Trump to do what he does best: insult women and bask in his wealth.
