(Reader advisory: this post includes graphic language)
Well, just when we thought that this 2016 presidential race to the bottom couldn’t get any lower, it got lower. On a bombshell Friday, a lewd videotape featuring Donald Trump at his misogynist worst hit the airwaves. On the same day, new WikiLeaks released emails further illustrated Hillary Clinton’s hypocrisy with sections of her paid speeches brought into the limelight. Trump’s controversy further cements his image as a chauvinist pig; Clinton’s controversy, which is being buried in the news by the more salacious Trump-oversy, further cements her image as a political hypocrite, privately talking about the necessity of having both a “public and private position.”
What is strangely fascinating about both of these bombshells is how unsurprising they are. Before getting into Trump, I’m going to briefly discuss the Clinton revelations, which would have been a big news story were it not for the Trump tape. The revelations, which you can read about in further detail in this New York Times story, confirm what was already obvious, that Hillary was deceiving the Democratic voters in her effort to stem the momentum of challenger Bernie Sanders. To me, the most outrageous quote is when she told a Brazilian bank that her “dream is a hemispheric common market, with open borders, sometime in the future.” So yes, her current public opposition to the controversial Trans Pacific Partnership is an abject fraud.
Anyway, Hillary’s “honest and trustworthy” numbers are already pathetic. It’s not likely that these transcripts will do much more than to further irritate the Sanders supporters who are already in the Gary Johnson or Jill Stein camp.
The Trump story, because it’s about sex, is understandably and deservedly garnering all the headlines.
Take a look at excerpts from the leaked Trump video, in which he’s engaging in “locker room talk” (his words) with Access Hollywood host Billy Bush, shortly before they were to meet actress Arianne Zucker outside the set of “The Days of Our Lives,” where Mr. Trump was scheduled to make a cameo appearance. This tape, from 2005, occurred shortly after Trump married his third wife Melania, who was pregnant with his son Barron. In the transcript, he talks to Bush about hitting on a married woman (we learned later to be current Entertainment Tonight host Nancy O’Dell, although her last name is not in the audio) and his first impressions of Zucker, wearing the purple dress. To emphasize the most lewd parts for those who are merely skimming, I have put those in boldface.
Nancy O’Dell (in 2005)
Trump: I moved on her and I failed. I’ll admit it. I did try and fuck her. She was married. (referring to Nancy O’Dell, also with Access Hollywood at the time and who had co-hosted the 2005 Miss Universe Pageant).
Unknown: That’s huge news.
Trump: No, no, Nancy. No, this was [unintelligible] — and I moved on her very heavily. In fact, I took her out furniture shopping. She wanted to get some furniture and I said “I’ll show you where they have some nice furniture.” I moved on her like a bitch. But I couldn’t get there. And she was married. Then all of a sudden I see her, she’s now got the big phony tits and everything. She’s totally changed her look.
Billy Bush: Sheesh, your girl’s hot as shit. In the purple (referring to Arianne Zucker)
Billy Bush, Donald Trump & Arianne Zucker
………………………………..
Trump: Yeah, that’s her. With the gold. I better use some Tic Tacs just in case I start kissing her. You know, I’m automatically attracted to beautiful — 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.
Bush: Whatever you want.
Trump: Grab ’em by the pussy. You can do anything.
If you actually watch the whole video, it’s even worse that seeing it in print. It doesn’t matter on the scale of a presidential election but it doesn’t reflect well on Bush either, who is the nephew of one of Trump’s primary rivals, Jeb Bush. Now with The Today Show, Billy Bush has said he’s “embarrassed” and “ashamed,” that he was “younger and less mature.” For the record, Bush was 33 years old at the time, Trump was 59.
As if the tape isn’t bad enough, The Washington Post reported today that Trump tried to get O’Dell fired as the host of the 2007 Miss USA Pageant, allegedly because she was pregnant.
Anyway, it’s hard to believe that a controversy surrounding Donald Trump and his attitude towards women could set a new low but this one does, “big league.” What makes this odious revelation different than any other is that Trump actually apologized, unequivocally, although not right away. His initial reaction was to offer a half hearted apology and then to counter-punch.
As is typical for Trump, he defends himself by punching back. The truth is, I believe that Bill Clinton said misogynistic things to Trump while they played golf. I don’t know if he said things that here “far worse” (this tape sets a really low low) but the truth is that both the GOP candidate and the Democratic candidate’s husband have a woeful track record when it comes to their treatment of women. Still, like the few rare Trump apologies, he didn’t really apologize for what he said; he just apologized if anyone was offended.
So let’s briefly unpack the excuse that this was “locker room banter.” I am a 49-year old heterosexual man. I will freely admit that I have occasionally engaged in locker room banter over the years. The vast majority of men have done so and likely a healthy percentage of women as well. But never, EVER, have I talked about moving on a woman “like a bitch” or grabbing a woman “by the pussy.” The latter is one of the things that Mike Tyson was accused of doing in the Desiree Washington rape case that landed him in prison. Grabbing a woman like that is sexual assault.
So yes, we have Donald Trump, on tape, saying that because he’s a big star, he can sexually assault women. It’s unacceptable. It’s reprehensible. It’s repulsive.
Trump’s initial statement of contrition was clearly not enough. The condemnation was so universally swift and severe that even the most ardent Trump cheerleader Sean Hannity on Fox News didn’t get to Clinton’s leaked speech excerpts until about 20 minutes into his show. Trump clearly realized that he had to do more, so he issued a further video apology. Here is a transcript of that video. I’ve marked what I believe are the most relevant portions in boldface.
“I’ve never said I’m a perfect person, nor pretended to be someone that I’m not. I’ve said and done things I regret, and the words released today on this more than a decade-old video are one of them. Anyone who knows me knows these words don’t reflect who I am. I said it, I was wrong and I apologize.
I have traveled the country talking about change for America, but my travels have also changed me. I’ve spent time with grieving mothers who’ve lost their children, laid-off workers whose jobs have gone to other countries, and people from all walks of life who just want a better future. I have gotten to know the great people of our country and I’ve been humbled by the faith they’ve placed in me. I pledge to be a better man tomorrow, and will never, ever let you down.
Let’s be honest, we’re living in the real world. This is nothing more than a distraction from the important issues we’re facing today.
We are losing our jobs, we are less safe than we were eight years ago and Washington is totally broken. Hillary Clinton and her kind have run our country into the ground. I’ve said some foolish things, but there’s a big difference between the words and actions of other people. Bill Clinton has actually abused women, and Hillary has bullied, attacked, shamed and intimidated his victims. We will discuss this more in the coming days. See you at the debate on Sunday.”
So this was an unequivocal apology but it was also a warning. The second presidential debate takes place tonight. In the first debate, Hillary pounded the Donald for his past misogynistic comments and included the fresh news of his treatment of the former Miss Universe Alicia Machado, who he had referred to as “Miss Piggy” and “Miss Housekeeping.” Trump held his retaliatory fire towards Clinton, for which he later congratulated himself. Even at this, his lowest moment, he has vowed in this statement to bring up Bill Clinton’s abuse of women and what Hillary has done to those women.
His problem is this: what Trump said is on tape. He can’t and didn’t deny that he said it. The accusations that Hillary bullied, attacked, shamed and intimidated the other women in Bill’s life rely solely on words and innuendo. In a debate format (especially a town hall format where you’re talking directly to voters), unless he’s got some new opposition research that can’t be refuted by the fact checkers, he can’t make that case against Hillary Clinton in a way that will turn voters from her to him. Bill’s past and her role in shaming the women in his life is baked into the electoral cake.
Trump has two other problems, one related and one unrelated to Friday’s bombshell. The first problem is that he has put his supporters in an impossible quagmire and he is losing that support. Take a look at the list of prominent Republicans who have either asked Trump to step aside and withdraw from the race or have stated they will not vote for him, just in the last 48 hours.
Prominent Republicans who have asked Trump to withdraw or stated they will not vote for him (last 48 hours)
- Arizona Senator John McCain
- Arizona Senator Jeff Flake
- South Dakota Senator John Thune (the #3 Republican in the Senate)
- Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski
- Alaska Senator Dan Sullivan
- Idaho Senator Mike Crapo
- Colorado Senator Cory Gardner
- New Hampshire Senator Kelly Ayotte
- Nebraska Senator Deb Fischer
- Ohio Senator Rob Portman
- West Virginia Senator Shelley Moore Capito
- Utah Senator Mike Lee
- Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz
- Utah Rep. Mia Love
- Utah Governor Gary Herbert
- New Mexico Governor Susanna Martinez
- Alabama Governor Robert Bentley
- Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval
- Nevada Rep. Joe Heck (running for Harry Reid’s open Senate seat)
- Former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice
- Former Utah Governor and 2012 presidential candidate Jon Huntsman
- Former Minnesota Governor and 2012 presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty
- Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse (had not previously endorsed Trump)
- Illinois Senator Mark Kirk (had not previously endorsed Trump)
- South Carolina Lindsey Graham (previously un-endorsed Trump)
- Maine Senator Susan Collins (previously un-endorsed Trump)
And, among Trump’s 16 opponents in this year’s GOP Primary:
- Ohio Governor John Kasich
- Former New York Governor George Pataki
- Businesswoman Carly Fiorina
- Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush (has never endorsed Trump)
I included the names Graham, Collins, Sasse and Kirk on the list to make the point that a whopping 16 GOP senators are on this list. Anyway, that is just the list (which is growing) of GOP members calling for Trump to step aside. The list also includes conservative radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt, whose rationale is that there is “more to come” regarding Trump controversies and of course, both Mitt Romney and former President George H. W. Bush have indicated long before that they won’t vote for the embattled billionaire either.
Trump has already said emphatically that he’s not stepping aside and I’m not sure what that would look like anyway considering that the election is just 30 days away and all of the ballots have been printed.
Also, although they have not specifically called for Trump to exit the race or indicated they would not vote for him, the list of prominent members of the GOP who officially condemned the videotape includes Trump’s running mate Mike Pence, Marco Rubio, Mitch McConnell, GOP Chairman Reince Priebus, and House Speaker Paul Ryan, who dis-invited Trump from a joint appearance in Wisconsin yesterday. Trump has referred to many of these defectors as self-righteous hypocrites.
Trump’s other problem of course is the issue of his taxes. The New York Times reported last week that, in 1995, he took a loss of over 900 billion dollars on his tax returns and that, because of the rules governing business losses and in particular the loopholes available to real estate developers, he may not have paid any federal income tax for 18 years. Hillary hinted at the last debate that maybe the Donald hadn’t been paying taxes at all and his response was “that makes me smart.” It is unfathomable, especially in a town format that tonight’s debate features, that Trump will not be confronted my by an average citizen who will ask why a self-described billionaire who flies in a jet with his name on it and lives in a Fifth Avenue penthouse shouldn’t contribute a nickel to the common good. If there were ever a poster boy to make the Democrats’ case about the rich not paying their “fair share” Donald Trump is that poster boy.
Wrapping, up, mid-way through his apology video, Donald Trump vowed to “be a better man tomorrow.” Well, think about that for a minute. He can’t excuse the comments by saying that he was young and immature. He was a 59-year-old man who had just committed to his third marriage earlier in the year. Be a “better man?” Just in the last year, he has referred to Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly’s period, Carly Fiorina’s face, Rose O’Donnell “deserving” the things he said about her and Alicia Machado’s weight. And that’s just his comments about women. He insulted John McCain for not being a war hero because “he was captured,” mocked a disabled reporter, feuded with the Gold Star Khan family and more ridiculous things than I can even remember.
Finally, I have said this before and will say it again. The worse offense Trump has committed is that he has not taken this election seriously from the beginning. I still see no evidence whatsoever that Trump has taken the time to learn and own the issues, to acquire the knowledge base from which to make intelligent governing decisions. He didn’t prepare for the first debate and he got clobbered. Maybe he’ll surprise us all tonight in the town hall debate but I’m dubious. Hillary Clinton is a deeply flawed candidate and it sickens me that she is probably going to win this election but that is the outcome that the GOP voters chose when they selected Trump to be our nominee.
Trump said “I will never let you down.” Well, Mr. Trump, you have let down your supporters. Many of them are so deeply intoxicated with your outsider status, your vow to shake up Washington and their utter disdain for the Republicans in Congress that they will accept anything you have done or will do. Many others have been supporting you simply as the lesser of two evils; these supporters back you because you’re more aligned with them on the issues than Hillary Clinton. But you are letting these people down on a nearly daily basis and, frankly, you deserve to lose.
Chris Bodig