First we were told he just had a “potty mouth.” No harm. No foul. Trump’s lewd comments on the now-infamous Access Hollywood tape were just “locker room braggadocio.” Those offended by “just words” were holier-than-thou hypocrites spouting faux outrage. Nothing to see here people. Move along. Move along.
Then we were told it was a “private conversation” between two dudes. So don’t get your knickers in a knot. (Trump didn’t know he was mic’ed? That the cameras were rolling? That he was heading in to a live interview? That makes him either the biggest dumb bell on the planet or a potted plant.) Besides, don’t you know that “all men” talk about sexually assaulting women in private? Besides again, Bill Clinton…
And the hits just keep on coming. Turns out, Trump’s taped remarks weren’t just vile rhetorical raillery. Apparently he was speaking from actual experience. (Didn’t see that comin’, didya?)
Unless you’ve been in a cave or a coma lately, you’re aware that in reports and first-person accounts per The New York Times, People magazine and The Palm Beach Post, four women have accused Trump of forcibly kissing them or aggressively touching them against their will. Doubtless there will be more.
As what’s left of the Trump campaign lurches further into meltdown mode, the real Donald Trump is coming through loud and clear: Self-righteous. Reactionary. Thin-skinned. Unhinged. Vacuous. Narcissistic and noxious. As solid as a bowlful of orange Jell-o.
And the ground is beginning to rupture beneath the Nothing to See Here, Move Along crowd.
Meanwhile, in what can only be described as galactic stupidity and epic political amateurism, Trump launched a defense with a page out of the Clinton play book, demeaning his accusers.
Faced with a barrage of accusations of groping and sexual misconduct from nearly a dozen women, Trump suggested – incredibly – that he would never have sexually assaulted one woman who came forward – because she was unattractive. Speaking at a rally in West Palm Beach, Florida, Trump said:
“Take a look. Look at her. Look at her words. And you tell me what you think. I don’t think so,” Trump said of Natasha Stoynoff, a People magazine reporter who alleged he had “forced his tongue down my throat”.
Brilliant that.
Elsewhere, Mr. Prince Charming implied that Jessica Leeds, who has accused Trump of improper sexual contact on an airplane 30+ years ago, was not physically attractive enough for him to touch:
“Yeah. I’m gonna go after – believe me — she would not be my first choice,” Trump said. “That I can tell you. Man. We don’t know. That would not be my first choice.”
Apparently Trump only assaults beautiful women? (Whew. That’s a relief.) Doubtless the Too-Ugly-To-Assault Defense will play well in Peoria. And North Carolina. Florida. Pennsylvania. Ohio. Arizona. Anywhere with anyone who has half a brain. Cough.
All together now: He has “great respect” for women. (If this is evidence of his “great respect” for women, one may rightly inquire, “What does disrespect look/sound like?”)
Swinging against his accusers earlier this week, Trump also trotted out the “lies, all lies” defense. He’s ripping into the media. Accusing same of colluding with Kamp Klinton to derail his campaign, saying the media and the Clinton campaign have brought forward false allegations less than a month before the election. Those Big Meanies!
But as his flame-out continues, Trump doesn’t need any help from either the media, the Marquise de Kleptocratia, or her cronies. He’s his own worst arsonist. (Historical note: GOP presidential contender Herman Cain dropped out of the race in 2011 amid allegations of sexual impropriety, saying that the allegations cast a “cloud of doubt over me and this campaign.”)
Well, Donald, what did you expect? This is the Big Leagues. Learning how to handle a hostile media is part of the presidential territory. Or, as Trump mouthpiece Scott Chachi Baio sneeringly advised ladies offended by Trump’s lewd, sexist remarks, “grow up.”
It gets even more bizarre. As reported by CBS:
He also blamed Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, a shareholder in the New York Times, for conspiring to meddle in the United States presidential election – a charge without evidence. He suggested multiple times throughout the day that the accusers are benefiting financially by going after him.
A spokesman for Slim, however, denied the accusation. “He doesn’t know him. He’s never met him in any way,” the spokesman told CNBC. “He doesn’t know anything about his personal life and, to be honest, he doesn’t care about his personal life.”
Meanwhile, the lies-all-lies defense might pass the straight face test if it came from almost anyone other than Donald Trump. Remember, this is the same guy who suggested that Ted Cruz’s father might have been involved in the JFK assassination. Who insisted a malfunctioning microphone was the work of a media determined to keep him from winning. Who spent five years “investigating” whether President Obama is a U.S. citizen. Who routinely savaged his GOP opponents with mind-numbingly contemptible, vicious attacks during the primaries.
And now Trump’s tender sensibilities are offended by numerous allegations of the same kind of misconduct he bragged about on tape?
Dude. Get a grip. And step away from the trough.
The sad truth about Trump’s self-inflicted train wreck of a campaign is that he’s turned out to be exactly the candidate we were warned about. A serial flip-flopper whose newly-minted “Republican” credentials are cellophane-thin. A narcissistic bully. A pompous, saber-rattling wind bag and political opportunist who’s utterly unfit to serve.
Just like Hillary. Which is why I’m not voting for either version of This little piggie went to market.
Speaking of which, we are left to wonder when Il Trumpo plans to go after Hillary Clinton with the same degree of venom and vitriol as he’s launched against just about everyone who dares to question his self-proclaimed greatness. Remember, he’s going to be “the presidential candidate in history.” Eye roll:
Meanwhile, the biggest losers of this entire sorry charade of a presidential race are the American people. We deserve better. We used to be better. Conservative warrior Chuck Nellis (111K followers) pointed this out on Twitter, opining:
I’m Chuck, Dude! 🙂 (@ChuckNellis) tweeted at 6:26 AM on Fri, Oct 14, 2016:
I’m Chuck, Dude! 🙂 @ChuckNellis
What I hate MOST this election: People are bending or breaking their value systems to support Trump because they so fear a Hillary POTUS. 🙁
True that, dude.