Sixteen women have now accused President Trump of sexually harassing them: doing various acts ranging from pushing the woman against a wall and sticking his tongue down her throat, to running his hand under a woman’s skirt and touching her vagina. Trump says it’s all “fake news” that never happened.
There are two big problems with calling this fake news. One problem arises because some of these women’s accusations are corroborated by witnesses who say the victims discussed the incidents with them at the time they allegedly happened.
Another problem is the Billy Bush audio tape that surfaced during the campaign. Trump was on a bus talking with Billy Bush, then of “Access Hollywood”, and a hot microphone caught Trump in a lewd conversation about women.
At one point in the audio, Trump and Bush notice Arianne Zucker, an actress waiting to escort them onto the set of a soap-opera for a cameo by Trump.
“I’ve got to use some Tic Tacs, just in case I start kissing her,” Trump says. “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,” Trump says. “You can do anything. Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything.”
Later, Trump admitted the words were his, but claimed he was lying.
I call that the “Cosby defense”. When 59 women accused Bill Cosby of various sex crimes, including rape, Cosby said all the women were lying.
So we’re supposed to believe that everyone who has accused Trump of being a sexual predator is a liar – including Trump himself. It’s interesting that Trump would believe people are gullible enough to believe his “they’re all lying” story.
Some may point out that other presidents have indulged in acts that were illegal and/or immoral. That is true. But claiming innocence because another person is also guilty is a child’s excuse. “But mommy, Bobby did it, too!” is a defense that didn’t fly then, and it won’t fly now.
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