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Women Supporting Rapists [1]

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Date: 2024-09-20  

One of the most inexplicable paradoxes in American politics is the millions of women who actively support Donald Trump. They are not shy about their vociferous adoration of an adjudicated sexual abuser. Trump, on the other hand, has openly acknowledged that he feels he has the right to engage in sexually assaulting women. The pertinent quote from the Access Hollywood tape was, “When you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.”

It is estimated that about one in five women will be raped or sexually assaulted during their lifetime. According to the Justice Department, nearly 80 percent of rapes and sexual assaults go unreported. Despite the endemic problems associated with over a quarter million rapes and sexual assaults per year, literally millions of female supporters are campaigning to reinstall a sexual predator as POTUS.

Given the relatively recent creation and evolution of the MeToo movement, the open support for a known predator by so many females for is especially perplexing. Regarding MeToo, Britannica states, “The movement is credited with giving visibility to the scope of sexual violence within the United States and across the world. It is also defined by a push for accountability, including examining power structures in the workplace that had enabled misconduct, and, in some cases, renewed efforts to seek justice for survivors through criminal and civil court systems.” That is the antithesis of the GOP/MAGA movement. Far from justice for victims, women supporting Trump either excuse or ignore the many sexual assaults made by him.

With many contributing factors, in 2017, the arrest and conviction of movie producer, Harvey Weinstein, led to the public awareness of the MeToo Movement. Like Trump, Weinstein felt entitled and was involved in multiple sexual assaults and rapes. The reporting of Ronan Farrow in the New Yorker played a pivotal role in broadening the knowledge of the breadth and depth of the problem. At the time there was a national outcry.

In a The New York Times review of Farrow’s excellent book, Catch and Kill, Jennifer Szalai wrote, “We live in polarized times, but one thing still seems to be shared across the political divide: sexual misconduct.” Today we know that is not true. While there are many women and men who found Weinstein’s behavior reprehensible, today millions of Trump supporters find such behavior to be excusable in their preferred candidate to again become President of the United States.

The parallels between Weinstein and Trump’s behavior in sexual assaults are unmistakable. In fact, Farrow’s title, Catch and Kill refers specifically to the identical behavior of acquiring the rights to a salacious story, then preventing publication of that material. It was The National Enquirer, run by Trump’s friend David Pecker, that performed the similar maneuvers for both men. The details of the secret arrangement between American Media Inc, (AMI) the owner of The National Enquirer, and Donald Trump became official public knowledge during what is known as “the Hush Money” trial involving Stephanie Clifford who is better known as Stormy Daniels.

One thing that hasn’t changed is that the deck still is stacked against women in these sexual assault cases. As with Trump and Weinstein, most rapists are serial offenders. Thus, bringing all of the evidence to trial can be difficult. Such was the case with Harvey Weinstein. In April 2024 “The New York Court of Appeals, in a scathing 4-3 opinion, overturned Weinstein's conviction on sex crimes against three women, finding the trial judge "erroneously admitted testimony of uncharged, alleged prior sexual acts against persons other than the complainants of the underlying crimes." Though in deteriorating health, he remains incarcerated (and vilified).

That is similar to the situation with the many of the accusers of Donald Trump. Time and the statute of limitations often precludes prosecution. With both Weinstein and Trump, the allegations span decades, and the victims know the attacker. That is consistent with what is known about serial sex offenders. Contrary to what most people think, stranger rapes and sexual assaults represent a relatively small percent (7) of the attacks.

As part of the MeToo Movement, Bill Cosby, aka, “America’s Dad,” was convicted of sexual assault and sent to jail. While that conviction was eventually overturned on a technicality, the similarities are glaring. Specifically, like Trump and Weinstein, Cosby was a man in a powerful position who felt entitled to sexually assault women. Like Trump and Weinstein there was supporting staff that either facilitated the activity or covered it up every time the allegations arose. Like Trump and Weinstein, there were many, many victims of Cosby’s druggings, and the assaults occurred over a period of decades.

As I stated previously in When Cops Condone Crime, “Because of his sexual proclivities, defamation and denigration of women, Donald Trump now owes E. Jean Caroll over ninety million dollars and counting. As recently as Friday, September 6th, Trump was again publicly attacking these women. As he so often does, he denigrated their physical features stating, “I know you’re going to say it’s a terrible thing to say, but it couldn’t have happened, and … she would not have been the chosen one.” That does infer there would have been “a chosen one.” Maybe he was referring to his encounter with Stormy Daniels while Melania was giving birth, which she (Daniels) states was both unwanted but consensual.

“Hardly new allegations, The Independent reported, ‘A full 26 incidents of ‘unwanted sexual contact’ and 43 instances of inappropriate behaviour were detailed in a book, All the President’s Women: Donald Trump and the Making of a Predator, which drew on over 100 interviews — many exclusive — and added to a list of nearly two dozen women who had previously accused him of sexual assault or misconduct.”

In an article by Errin Haines earlier this year, she accurately stated, “So far accountability is something his voters, including a majority of GOP women, have not yet demanded in the 2024 election cycle.” It should be remembered that Trump has a long history of denigration of women, often focusing on their physical features. The term “Horseface: has surfaced in the most inappropriate circumstances. In the recent trials that is what he called Stormy Daniels.

Then consider the verbal attack on Carly Fiorina, a former Hewlett-Packard executive, and who was a Republican presidential candidate. It was during the 2016 election she had her own appearance attacked then-candidate Trump. “Look at that face,” he told Rolling Stone magazine of Fiorina. “Would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next president?!” Yet, millions of American women still find his behavior totally acceptable. The question should be where is their sense of accountability?

Polling suggests there is a substantial gender gap between men and women regarding support for Trump versus Harris. Even so, the vocal support for Trump by millions of women belies common sense. The consummate con man, Trump continues to spew lies that are readily accepted by a willfully ignorant constituency. One of those lies, reiterated this month appears to be “It never happened.”

While a viable Republican Party no longer exists, we still find that the majority of elected GOP officials are willing to proclaim their support for Trump. For many former GOP officials Trump’s behavior is antithetical to their espoused values. High on that list of hypocrites should be Nikki Haley. The price of admission to the convention was an open endorsement of Trump. Her statement began, “I’ll start by making one thing perfectly clear: Donald Trump has my strong endorsement, period.” By that endorsement Haley was willing to do almost anything, even after Trump’s comments mocking the absence of her husband, who was deployed overseas at the time. Such remarks highlighted his long history of disparaging members of the military. Then employing his racist dog whistle, Mr. Trump referred to Ms. Haley as “Nimbra” in a post on Truth Social, his social media platform, three days after facing criticism for dubbing her “Nimrada.”

Even more inexplicable is the paradox of support for Trump by Congresswoman Nancy Mace of South Carolina. Based on her personal experience, Mace has been a strong advocate for victims of sexual assault. A poignant article noted, “Mace has previously stated she was a rape victim at age 16, adding ‘I dropped out of high school shortly after. This trauma turned my life upside down.’" A hard-liner on rape by foreigners, she sponsored H.R. 7909, otherwise known as the "Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act." That bill "provide that aliens who have been convicted of or who have committed sex offenses or domestic violence are inadmissible and deportable." Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) has argued that “her desire for a president who will protect survivors of rape is why she’s voting for Donald Trump.” Let’s see, those conflicting and paradoxical positions equate to: “Alien rapists bad” but “Trump as rapist is admirable.”

As evidenced near daily, consistent “moral values” in Congress is an oxymoron. The obvious cognitive dissonance must be mostly intolerable. Since 2016 most of the remaining Republican members of congress have acquiesced to Trump’s insidious demands. A number of them left office, and those who attempted accountability were redistricted or lost in the next election.

America has experienced weak candidates before. However, never has there been any like Donald Trump who is demonstrably so unfit for office. Disregarding the overwhelming evidence that led to two impeachments and multiple criminal indictments, he still is supported by tens of millions of incredibly gullible followers. Mindboggling is the support that still exists for a rapist, among half of the population that is female. If in doubt, just observed the adulation of women seated behind Trump at any of his rallies.

I’m not excusing men. While far fewer men are victims of sexual assault, we have a duty to support those women who have been attacked. For men cognizant of the situation, I recommend that you think about your wives (remember Trump admitted targeting wives), mothers, sisters, and especially daughters when endorsing or voting for a known predator for POTUS. The Republicans have totally failed in accountability for their female constituents. It appears they fear Trump’s Base, more than they care about women. There remains a bottom-line paradox: Why do any women actively support a rapist?

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