Were They, Though?

President Trump: "There were numerous cases where women were paid money to say bad things about me. You can't do that. You can't do that. And those women did wrong things." pic.twitter.com/vdYUM1B8Dc

— The Hill (@thehill) June 23, 2019

One of Trump's "quirks", to call it something a bit milder than "pathology", is to claim that anything negative about himself is fake news. It works for his supporters, obviously. It works for Trump because, even if one was inclined to believe rather a lot of negative information, he has thrown out that seed of doubt. Are all negative stories true? Aren't some stories lies? Couldn't this one be a lie, too? So when presented with another credible accuser, he claims it's fake news. Women say horrible things about him because they get paid.

The problem with claiming fake news all the time though, is that the reverse is also true--is it likely that all these stories are actually fake? Can he produce receipts regarding the payment of these women? Does he want that investigated, or has he never considered putting that theory to the test? And doesn't it seem a little odd in light of his apparently paying women not to talk about consensual relations he had with them? Does he just assume everyone is motivated by money?

If women were just paid to make up stories about rich and powerful men, why even have a "me too" movement? Wouldn't stories like this be thick on the ground instead of painfully coming out over the years? And doesn't it seem interesting that there are just some men we might believe it of, and some men we know would never? As if things like pathological lying, misogyny, womanizing, intimidation, seem more probable with some people of note than others?

Also, why would E. Jean Carroll list Trump among her hideous men when she already has such notables? Isn't Trump just a little too much, I dunno, a leader of a country (to the extent that he was elected, I mean) to be shoehorned in for mercenary reasons if it wasn't true? That particular excerpt is the one we all end up reading without buying the book, thanks. And wouldn't she and her publishers be expecting an entire world of deep shit if it's not true?

Trump is, and has been, hideous, for a long time. This isn't some brand new revelation. And I'm not even sure that his biggest fans fully disbelieve the evidence in front of them. They just don't seem to care.