[Content note for sexual assault]
On Friday, the Washington Post published a heretofore unseen video from 2005 in which Donald Trump, in the Access Hollywood bus on the way to a cameo on “Days of Our Lives,” gives us a good look at how much he really respects women. Talking with Billy Bush, into a mic that he didn’t know was hot (Donald, are you sure that a malfunctioning microphone isn’t the best thing for you at this point?), he makes it clear that no, women aren’t more than objects to be evaluated, disparaged, and abused at his whim.
He talks about trying (unsuccessfully) to sleep with a married woman, then disparages her appearance. He swears. He pops a Tic Tac in case he “just starts kissing” his costar. He pervs on her legs and refers to her as “it.” Essentially, he acts in a way that is perfectly in character for Donald Trump, who is the Republican nominee for president. And he talks about how easy it is to commit sexual assault, being a celebrity.
I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab ‘em by the pussy. You can do anything.
Kissing them whether they want to or not. “Grab[bing] ’em by the pussy.” That’s sexual assault. That’s sexual assault. And he can get away with it because when you’re a star, you can do anything.
It sucks that he’s right — he can get away with things like that because he’s a celebrity. And throughout this entire campaign, Trump gotten away with horrendous things because he’s a celebrity, not a politician, an “outsider,” and thus not subject to the expectations we lay on anyone else who would propose to be the leader of the free world. He’s an unpolished, tell-it-like-it-is kind of guy who speaks his mind and says what he means (unless he says something stupid and/or offensive, at which time supporters rush to explain how he didn’t actually mean what he said). He’s an entertainer, and if sometimes he calls a women dogs, bimbos, fat pigs, disgusting animals, talks about “blood coming out of [their] wherever,” about only hiring beautiful women, about women dropping to their knees — well, he’s not polished. He’s not a politician. And he really respects women.
But it looks like that might be coming to an end. Apparently, the tipping point for a lot of people is him using words like “fuck” and “pussy” on an open mic and disparaging Nancy O’Dell’s breast implants. That’s what’s gotten GOP bigwigs to denounce, if not him, his words and sentiments — “crude,” “demeaning,” “repugnant,” “disrespectful,” “profane,” “vulgar.” It’s what got Mike Pence to speak out against Trump’s rhetoric in a way he simply refused to do at the vice presidential debate. But let’s be clear here: Trump’s crude, vulgar language was hardly the most offensive part of that video.
To their credit, some in the political sphere have had the sense to look beyond whether or not it’s okay to “talk about women in those terms” or if it’s okay for them to “be described in these terms or talked about in this manner.” I give credit to the pundits and lawmakers, particularly those of the Republican persuasion, who have come out with official statements that acknowledge what Trump really is describing: sexual assault.
Yes, it is, as Trump has dismissed it, “locker room banter” — like when a college quarterback shielded from sexual assault allegations sits around in the locker room bantering about grabbing ’em by the pussy without consequence. If people banter like this in your locker room, you need a better locker room. I think it does a tremendous disservice to men to claim that this is par for the bantering course.
Am I offended by vulgar language? Fuck no. I use that shit all the time. (Do I think it’s comportment worthy of the president of the United States as someone that little kids should be able to admire and emulate? Also fuck no.) What offends me is the casual assumption of sexual assault as his right as a powerful man, the snickers and Tic Tac popping in preparation for his unsuspecting costar outside of the bus, and the attitude by so many outraged people that the most disrespectful thing he did was say “pussy,” and not that he was talking about using that pussy like a handle and get away with it because he’s a star.