One of the downsides of university politics is that on prominent issues of social justice, the student body mobilizes to form its opinions without giving students time to discuss and deliberate on the issues. It is a sign of how much we care, I believe, but the result is that we all agree on how we feel before most of us firmly understand why. This is not a criticism, but rather an observation worthy of concern.
Two weeks ago, the Washington Post released a video showing Donald Trump bragging about groping and sexually assaulting women. The condemnation from the Duke community was swift and unanimous. Even Duke’s small but loyal population of Trump supporters was rattled. However, as a feminist I worry that in an election inundated with controversy, the significance of this footage will be obscured and lost in the noise. We must do more to explain to the student body what, specifically, Donald Trump’s remarks reveal about his view of women as well as the dangers of such a view should it ever command the highest office in our nation.
Trump’s pugnacious reputation has been forged largely through his confrontations with women. For example, Trump began a bitter feud with Rosie O’Donnell in 2006, during which he has referred to her as unattractive, a “big, fat pig” and “my nice fat little Rosie” among other slurs. Then, last year Trump referred to Megyn Kelly as a “bimbo” and posted doctored photos of her on Twitter after she confronted him for his treatment of women during a Republican primary debate. Trump naturally rejects the notion that he treats women any differently than men, and his daughter Ivanka referred to him innocently as an “equal opportunity offender.”
Whether or not we accept the premise that he is a sexist, anyone who claims to be surprised by the new video is either quite unfamiliar with Donald Trump’s past or is being disingenuous. We knew this man had a problem with women long before we knew the allegations that he was groping them.
What the video does reveal is the extent of Donald’s sexual depravity. Not only does he show no regard for the woman he assaulted being married, which should strike a nerve among people of faith, but he behaved as though he owned her. He says, “And when you’re a star, you can do it. [Women] will let you do anything,” even “grab them by the p***y,” he clarifies.
It is imperative that we understand that the issue here is not that Donald Trump said a few profane words. The issue is that these words lay bare his perverse view of female value.
Donald Trump is the previous owner of the Miss America pageant, a contest ostensibly judged on criteria not including contestants’ appearance. Before he ran the contest, it reportedly irritated Trump that “the most beautiful people were never chosen [as winners].” Thus, as owner Trump implemented the so-called “Trump Rule” whereby contestants were “paraded” in front of him so that he could select those he found attractive enough for television. Additionally, as the star of the reality television show, “The Apprentice,” Trump made sexually explicit comments on and off camera; at one point telling a female contestant, “It must be a pretty picture, you on your knees.”
One could fill volumes with examples of Trump’s sexist behavior and for each his campaign will conjure up a defense. Altogether, however, they paint the picture of a man accustomed to seeing women and their bodies as luxury goods—no different than a sports car or a new watch. And no luxury is beyond The Donald’s reach.
In the second Presidential debate Trump denied ever carrying out the assault he bragged about in the Washington Post’s video. He chalked it all up to “locker room talk” and brushed the issue aside. A ludicrous media debate ensued over whether a 59-year-old man saying that he moved on an unconsenting woman “like a b***h” fits the definition of “locker room talk.” I will not entertain that level of foolishness here. More importantly, Trump walked into a landmine with these comments, because within days several women had come forward with accusations against him. Currently, there are eight independent accusations against Trump, several of which fit the description in his 2005 video almost exactly. Barring a conspiracy of epic proportions, we have every reason to believe these stories are true. There is a sexual predator at the top of the Republican presidential ticket.
This concerns me most because our next president has large shoes to fill. He or she must maintain the pressure that the Obama administration has placed on Universities to expel rape culture from their campuses and be more transparent in their handling of reported sex crimes. Remember that 23.1 percent of undergraduate women experience sexual assault in colleges every year. Will Donald Trump be their voice? Furthermore, the next president must stand before the military and every federal agency as their commander in chief and order them to treat women with respect and dignity. Donald Trump does not have the character, the concern, or the credibility to face these challenges.
A president’s behavior is a model of what they will tolerate in office. If that is true, I cannot imagine the hopelessness of women around the country who have been sexually harassed, assaulted or raped by a man of wealth and repute. What do they feel when he dismisses a confession of sexual assault as “locker room talk”?
This story began with the women Donald Trump violated, and it should end with them. Many claim they didn’t file charges against Trump when he kissed, groped or harassed them because they feared he would retaliate. He’s validated that fear by threatening to sue the New York Times for libel in a thinly veiled attempt to censor two women’s stories of being inappropriately touched by him years ago. Nonetheless, these women valiantly spoke out, knowing that Trump would try to silence them, because they trusted the public to believe them. If this country elects Trump in November, then our society will have doubly betrayed them: first, when Trump’s wealth granted him de facto impunity from the law; and second, when the public saw Trump for the predator he was but chose not to care.
Donald Trump likes to talk about keeping this country safe, but when it comes to women, he’s as dangerous as it gets.
Ian Burgess is a Trinity sophomore. His column, “from the mountaintop,” runs on alternate Fridays.
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