Unless you live under a rock, you’re probably aware of the latest Donald Trump scandal, but in case you missed it, it was a recording of Trump and former Access Hollywood star Billy Bush not only speaking offensively about women, but Trump actually admitted to sexual assault. And while the whole thing is disgusting and crude, it’s not shocking, and the fact Trump said those things is far from unbelievable for those of us who have been against him from the start. The real horror here, in my opinion, is the amount of people defending him.
One of the main arguments people are making is attributing the conversation to “locker room banter,” as if that makes it any better. All this does is prove is how normalized this kind of speech is in our culture. It’s the typical “boys will be boys” attitude (even though Trump was 59 when the comments were made-- far from boyhood). Trump’s literal words were, “I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.” He goes on to say, “Grab them by the p***y, you can do anything.” This isn’t just a rude comment-- it’s describing sexual assault. Hearing those words come out of a presidential candidate’s mouth is difficult to even wrap your head around, but how did we get to this point?
Trump’s supporters, the majority of which are uneducated, white males, have made excuses for him time and time again, but they may be at a loss this time. Republicans like Mitt Romney and John McCain are speaking out against Trump in light of his latest screw up, but it’s interesting how until now, they turned a blind eye to all the other ridiculously offensive things he’s said about Mexicans, the disabled, African Americans, Muslims and other minorities. So, because something he said affects white women, and your wife is upset about it, now you choose to speak up? You shouldn’t have to have a wife or a daughter or a sister to understand how wrong Trump’s words were. You really just have to be a human being with morals.
But still, self-proclaimed political experts on social media (of whom I doubt half are even registered to vote) are finding ways to justify what Trump said. Of course, somehow they try to bring it all back to Hillary Clinton and the email scandal again, but let me remind you: she was cleared by the FBI. It’s time to let it go. Not to mention the ridiculous attempt Trump and his supporters made to bring Bill Clinton into the conversation. News flash: he’s not the one running for president. The fact Hillary’s husband and the choices he’s made keep getting brought up is just another example of how misogynistic our society is, as if Hillary is somehow responsible for her husband’s actions.
The bottom line is Trump can’t lie his way out of this one-- it was caught on tape. If you still consider yourself a Trump supporter at this point I think it may be time to reevaluate your life and morals and what you stand for. This country is supposed to be about equal rights for all and with a pathetic excuse for a man like Donald Trump as president, I just don’t see how we can live up to that promise.
