Trump Will Tell You That Isn't Who He Is

There's something that is grimly amusing about the past two days furor over the Trump "grab them by the pussy" comments turning into a breaking point for many public supporters--this isn't really new. For people who have been paying attention to the various ways that Donald Trump has been an enormous sexist knob, this is just additional corroborating evidence. Yes, we can now adjoin these particular leering comments about Nancy O'Dell (who he later tried to fire either because she blew him off or because she was preggo, which he finds a total boner-killer) and other women that Donald Trump felt like he could sleaze on because of his own brand of fame and fortune to extremely gross comments that he has made previously about women on Howard Stern's radio program--including not cool things he has said about his own daughters, like acknowledging that his older daughter is a piece of ass. He ruminated about what his then-baby daughter Tiffany's boobs would look like all grown up on Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.

He might try to pretend this isn't who he is, but this is exactly who he has been. Saying otherwise is classic gaslighting. He's asking us "Who do you believe--me or your lying eyes?" Or ears. He can pretend that his reported wretchedness on the set of his reality TV show, The Appprentice, is due to his being "in character"--but really? Does one need to go all Method and stay in a wretched character to play oneself? And how long before getting the role was he supposed to start?

It just doesn't wash. His history of sexism is deep and sometimes the kind of shocking where you can only stare in awe at the pathology of it. It remains very likely that there are more nuggets of sleaze to be found in further Apprentice and Stern releases.  This is the guy, after all, who posed as his own PR person in order to drop a fake story about a model he wanted to sleep with and totally was not sleeping with. The problem with his "grab them by the pussy" comments is that it exactly describes what he allegedly did to accuser Jill Harth.  He has simply been a disgrace to humanity for a really long time.

And what is pretty amazing is that this sudden realization that Donald Trump is a big old sexist sleazebucket sort of overshadows a piece of damning confirmation about his toxic racism--he still believes the five wrongfully accused men (then boys) in the Central Park Five case are guilty, even if they have since been cleared via DNA evidence and another person's confession. Because they confessed under duress that one time. This, from the guy who wants to bring back waterboarding, and worse. The guy who called Mexican immigrants rapists (very much on purpose, thanks) while being himself the sort of person who thinks forcing himself upon women is one way to be a cool celebrity ladykiller.

It's all about some weird ideas about power, and dead wrong ideas about consent and justice. He just isn't fit for any office. He's barely fit to be indoors.