Whether you tuned into the recent GOP debate with a drink in hand, following via live tweets, or skimmed gossip magazines at the local grocery store check out, somehow you know about the comments surrounding Megyn Kelly and Donald Trump.
Like many Americans, I sat down on my couch alongside my traditionally conservative father and watched the Republican Presidential debate. Now, for those of you who know me, you can easily say I enjoy political banter, and looking at the different points of view surrounding the political system here in the U.S. While I have never been a huge fan of Megyn Kelly, I do believe she deserves more support than she is getting when it comes to what happened between her and Trump at the debate.
Believe it or not, Kelly was not called to the debate to sit and look pretty, she was called to monitor the debate and ask some hard-hitting questions. Megyn is an employee for Fox News, which as we all know is a traditionally republican news outlet. Kelly, that night was simply doing her job, she was at the debates to ask some good questions and give America something to sink their teeth into. Personally, I think the majority of the debate questions for the republican top ten were anything but difficult and pretty soft. As a reporter and journalist, you owe it to the people watching this debate to ask some good questions, to keep them interested and tuned in.
Obviously Kelly not only asked Trump questions, she gave other candidates hard-hitting questions as well. It is not surprising that the only woman monitoring the debate asked Mr. Trump a question about women. As most of us know, the Republican Party is not known for bringing in the woman’s vote. The party as a whole does not really have anything that is drawing women to come and fight on their behalf. While feminism is gaining in popularity, it is wise for the party to try and make up for lost ground. Kelly asked Trump about his comments surrounding women, calling them names such as “ fat pigs” and “slobs”, along with a multitude of other degrading names. Donald Trump interrupted her and commented, “Only Rosie O’Donnell."
This is where I started to have a problem with the direction of this debate. Throwing a women under the bus at a debate where she is not there to defend herself is absolutely insane.
After the debate, Trump made some colorful comments about Kelly, mentioning that she looked as though she was “Bleeding from the eyes… and somewhere else.” Now, it doesn’t take someone much time to figure out that he was making a low blow at Kelly, in reference to her reproductive system.
When you are running for president, people are going to ask you questions once in a while. I am aware that this may come as a shock to Mr. Trump because he has never held a position in public office, but any time someone asks you a hard question, bullying the journalist is not the most efficient way to get out of the question. Trump did a really great job of throwing away the women’s vote, because as a young woman I am extremely offended and angry.
I am angry that he made these comments and Kelly’s colleagues have not really backed her up. I am also angry that it is okay to treat women in the media this way. Objectively we can all agree that Kelly is a pretty and intelligent woman, but as soon as she opened her mouth to ask something difficult she was lashed out at for being a woman. I think it is fascinating that if a woman is smart and good looking, automatically she is written off as being bossy or abrasive, when in reality she is doing her job. So, this is my defense of Megyn Kelly and all of the women who have been called bossy or mean. They can have a pretty face and are smarter than people sometimes assume. I hope that we can look back at this, and take a step forward for the better treatment of women in the media. I hope that my daughter can grow up in a world that will not disregard her opinions because of her gender.
