It alienating how most medias and columnists spend an inordinate energy and passion at condemning Trump without even questioning the system that allows an individual whose entire know how is to make money for himself and who is not endorsed by his own party to run as a candidate to the Presidency. It is in a sense worse than the behavior they are so found of talking and writing about. It also is part of the problem all together.
2
What Trump said was unquestionably wrong.
What Kristof has written is worthless. It trivializes the issue. It adds nothing in way that actually detracts.
Kristof may have thought his column would be beyond reproach because attacking it would make a person look as if he or she supports misogyny.
But, it does not. It just makes a person discerning.
Hopefully, we will be hearing less from the both of them.
What Kristof has written is worthless. It trivializes the issue. It adds nothing in way that actually detracts.
Kristof may have thought his column would be beyond reproach because attacking it would make a person look as if he or she supports misogyny.
But, it does not. It just makes a person discerning.
Hopefully, we will be hearing less from the both of them.
3
Let's also take a look at this action: Shortly after Roger Ailes was forced from Fox News for sexual harassment, Trump took Ailes on as an advisor.
29
On Nov. 9th God willing, we're going to have to scrape this guy off our shoes.
28
Trump, the Prince of Darkness.
5
I read the headline of this article and hoped that it would be about the core issues that have catalyzed a good portion (the non-deplorables?) of Trump's constituency: economic inequality, the need for good-paying jobs in depressed areas of America that have lost their primary industries and plants, the effect of automation on skilled and unskilled labor.
Instead, I read yet another analysis of Trump's reprehensible behavior.
There's no question that Trump deserves what he's getting in the press. My heart goes out to the women who've had to endure Trump's harassment and criminal behavior, as well as that of countless men who feel themselves entitled to women's bodies as if they were at a buffet.
But while we condemn Trump, over and over, for being a misogynistic lout, I can't help but wonder if we're failing to look at the underlying circumstances that have made a sizable (non-racist, non-sexist, etc.) segment of the citizenry believe he's the best choice for moving America forward.
What's the Democratic plan for reaching out to these citizens? For example, how will Hillary's plan for small farms in rural America compete against Big Ag? How will strengthening the Renewable Fuel Standard improve rural agribusiness?
In our eagerness to condemn the man, I hope we also remember that his supporters are fellow citizens whose concerns may very well be legitimate.
Instead, I read yet another analysis of Trump's reprehensible behavior.
There's no question that Trump deserves what he's getting in the press. My heart goes out to the women who've had to endure Trump's harassment and criminal behavior, as well as that of countless men who feel themselves entitled to women's bodies as if they were at a buffet.
But while we condemn Trump, over and over, for being a misogynistic lout, I can't help but wonder if we're failing to look at the underlying circumstances that have made a sizable (non-racist, non-sexist, etc.) segment of the citizenry believe he's the best choice for moving America forward.
What's the Democratic plan for reaching out to these citizens? For example, how will Hillary's plan for small farms in rural America compete against Big Ag? How will strengthening the Renewable Fuel Standard improve rural agribusiness?
In our eagerness to condemn the man, I hope we also remember that his supporters are fellow citizens whose concerns may very well be legitimate.
22
Anyone seen the Trump campaign manager/apologist Kellyanne Conway on the air lately? It is always possible I read things completely wrong, but I'll write this anyway: Why would someone choose to be so unhappy?
17
Of course Donald Trump is a sleeze. But does anyone actually believe that Bill Clinton or for that matter John Kennedy spoke about women differently? Does anybody remember that the FBI taped Martin Luther King in extremely lewd conversations and tried to blackmail him with the tapes? King is a secular saint now. The level of hypocrisy is staggering.
There is something else as well which I've only seen one comment mention. The fact is, from time immemorial, men have liked to look at
and women have liked to show. Look at any social situation. The more formal it is, the *more* covered men will be and the *less* covered (young) women will be. Tolstoy in War and Peace refers to the "half naked women" at an opera with the maximum amount of arm, shoulder, and cleavage exposed while the men have absolutely nothing but their hands and faces showing. Today the tops have stayed the same and the skirts have moved several feet up.
In the tape Trump is about to meet with Arianne Zucker, an actress. They spot her from a distance and begin to comment on her legs. Then, as the tape continues, Arianne walks into view. She is a wearing a handkerchief skirt cut most of the way up her legs with a low-cut sleeveless spaghetti strap top. (The men are, of course, totally covered from head to toe.) The purpose of the outfit is show off her great body. Which is fine. But then people are outraged that the men watching her noticed?
There is something else as well which I've only seen one comment mention. The fact is, from time immemorial, men have liked to look at
and women have liked to show. Look at any social situation. The more formal it is, the *more* covered men will be and the *less* covered (young) women will be. Tolstoy in War and Peace refers to the "half naked women" at an opera with the maximum amount of arm, shoulder, and cleavage exposed while the men have absolutely nothing but their hands and faces showing. Today the tops have stayed the same and the skirts have moved several feet up.
In the tape Trump is about to meet with Arianne Zucker, an actress. They spot her from a distance and begin to comment on her legs. Then, as the tape continues, Arianne walks into view. She is a wearing a handkerchief skirt cut most of the way up her legs with a low-cut sleeveless spaghetti strap top. (The men are, of course, totally covered from head to toe.) The purpose of the outfit is show off her great body. Which is fine. But then people are outraged that the men watching her noticed?
14
When Donald J. Trump was caught unscripted and with his guard down on audio speaking with his fellow privileged white male Billy Bush, their conversation was not mere "locker room talk": Trump was explaining to Bush in detail his modus operandi for sexually assaulting women. So when he lied on Sunday night's debate in his response to Anderson Cooper's question, is it really any surprise that his victims are now coming come out at great expense to their reputations and indeed their safety given how they have been viciously attacked by Trump's supporters in order to decry Trump and call him out for lying to the entire world about his deplorable behavior?
38
I have noticed that when Republican congressmen and senators finally speak out against Trump since the bus ride, they almost always give a list of the important women in their life. They talk about their mother, wife, daughters and grand daughters as the reason they had to stand up against Trump. Now, I would think any decent American, especially those with females making up over half of their constituents, would be against sexual assaults regardless of the gender of their children. Maybe those are the reasons less the 1/3 of our republican officials have spoken out against Trump. Are these congressmen and women from a state that defies from the fact that over 50% of voting age people in this country are female? Do 2/3s of our GOP politicians have only male off springs? Are a majority of our GOP guys divorced or perhaps never married?
Let's face it; the GOP stance on women's rights is on third world level. If you don't believe that, re-read Kristof's excellent article.
Let's face it; the GOP stance on women's rights is on third world level. If you don't believe that, re-read Kristof's excellent article.
31
If there is anything good that can come from this horrible campaign season, perhaps more people will become aware of sexual predators that lurk in unsuspecting places and come from all backgrounds.
28
Trump and the far less flamboyant Pence have done nothing to support women their entire lives. Trump has in fact done worse. He is the epitome of the worse of chauvinistic pigs who have oinked around the globe displaying a downright hatred of women. Trump has done nothing but make a fortune for himself and his beloved family. Outside of that, Trump has done absolutely nothing for anyone else. And now he has the unmitigated gall to state he wants to make American great, again? He could do that very easily, in one fell swoop in fact, by leaving America and never be heard of again.
DD
Manhattan
DD
Manhattan
49
"Mike Pence also signed a bizarre anti-abortion bill as Indiana’s governor requiring burial or cremation even of tissue from an early miscarriage."
This is the kind of stuff that makes the Christian Right seem like a bunch of creepy perverts.
This is the kind of stuff that makes the Christian Right seem like a bunch of creepy perverts.
75
What a team the GOP has put on the field this year- The Groper in Chief and the Pastor in Chief. Pence actually may be more dangerous in the long run since he has obviously not read the final clause in Article VI of the constitution which states " but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States."
48
i agree with you.
11
Sorry, but "comments on a website for fraternity men" can hardly be typical. First, frat types have a culture of sexual bravado that no one actually believes. Second, the levels of insecurity and overcompensation of some members may skew the results. Finally, the shyer, more reserved college men don't join, so that population is underrepresented.
Let's just say that Donald was at a jobsite and should have been charged under Title VII for coercion, intimidation and creating a hostile work environment.
Let's just say that Donald was at a jobsite and should have been charged under Title VII for coercion, intimidation and creating a hostile work environment.
25
Here's what I wonder about: how come Trumpy's wives, daughter, and nearly every female surrogate or staffer look so very much alike?
26
It's too bad, that since Trump admitted sexual assault on the bus, that he does not have to register as a Sex Offender.
14
Trump's actions still don't reach the level of Bill Clinton's. Until that is acknowledged all these words are wasted.
Everyone knows these words and acts are wrong. They knew it the first, Mr. Kristof, when Bill Clinton engaged in them. Democrats wouldn't listen. No surprise, no one is listening to democrats now. It's called "hypocrisy" and usually results in a complete loss of legitimacy.
All these discussion about sexually insulting language, offensive behavior, treatment of women, etc. should have occurred when Bill Clinton was running for president. They are decades overdue.
Everyone knows these words and acts are wrong. They knew it the first, Mr. Kristof, when Bill Clinton engaged in them. Democrats wouldn't listen. No surprise, no one is listening to democrats now. It's called "hypocrisy" and usually results in a complete loss of legitimacy.
All these discussion about sexually insulting language, offensive behavior, treatment of women, etc. should have occurred when Bill Clinton was running for president. They are decades overdue.
11
It is somewhat difficult to refute accusations that are consistent with one's own words. Trump says he grabs women and walks in on them naked - some of these women say that's happened to them.
That said, I'm surprised there's not more outrage about him trying to hook up with the married woman. I would expect such blatant and predatory adultery would be frowned upon by the social conservatives.
That said, I'm surprised there's not more outrage about him trying to hook up with the married woman. I would expect such blatant and predatory adultery would be frowned upon by the social conservatives.
12
What's left to say about this man? There are no positives, everything is negative...how did he become the GOP candidate? How did we put a money grubbing, misogynistic thug in this position of power? We, the voters, urged on by the media, have created this threat to our country. Imagine how naively stupid we must look to the rest of the world.
13
Mr. Trump is a media creation. He rose rapidly based on showmanship and added the entertainment and spectacle that most retailers of ink, ratings, and clicks that were hoped for. Not during his rise to tweetdom that the World's real issues have not become any less difficult but the real issues of our global reality has been crowded out.
Maybe we will get back to issue discussions after November 8.
Maybe we will get back to issue discussions after November 8.
8
I want to commend you on your choice of title. The Donald will surely read it with a lead like that.
6
Thank you Mr Kristof for once again reminding us of the true cost of the sexist words and ideas that hurt women everywhere. I would add that I am disturbed that some of the white evangelical supporters of Mr Trump (men who describe themselves as( "good Christians") are claiming these are only meaningless words and in the next breath describe Hillary Clinton with vicious words and lies. Clearly misogyny is alive and well in the Republican Party as well as certain "Christian" organizations.
20
“So I’m delighted that at least one person, Billy Bush, is paying in a concrete way for the words in the Trump tape.”
So Billy Bush loses his co-anchor job at NBC for being an accomplice in that 2005 videotaped discussion of “sexual assault,” while the self-confessed culprit still gets an opportunity to become president of the United States?
So Billy Bush loses his co-anchor job at NBC for being an accomplice in that 2005 videotaped discussion of “sexual assault,” while the self-confessed culprit still gets an opportunity to become president of the United States?
32
Nicholas, you actually wrote an article on the One Thing Donald Trump is right about?
The adage about the clock being right twice per day- would have been sufficient.
The adage about the clock being right twice per day- would have been sufficient.
5
Kristof's op-eds, like NYT election "coverage," are a farce. We need solid coverage of Clinton selling arms to Bahrain when donations were made to the Clinton foundation.
We need to hear repeatedly that attacking a sovereign nation is a war crime, and that Clinton is therefore a war criminal, twice over. HRC kills two million Iraqis and destroys two countries and we hear about the plight of a woman sitting next to Trump on a plane. Or about a woman, Jill Garth, so traumatized by Trump's advances that she went and dated him.
In terms of suitability for governance, I want daily articles about 30,000 emails so sensitive that aides take the 5th and smash her devices to pieces with hammers. Nixon can't hold a candle.
Perhaps most important, the nation needs to know what a Democratic Crossover Ballot is, so everyone understands how HRC stole the election from Sanders in the most sickening way.
I defy the NYT editors to pick this letter. Not for your readership , which is duped beyond repair. Do it rather as a tribute to the great journalists of old who dug in a non-partisan way. Get some self-respect, NYT.
We need to hear repeatedly that attacking a sovereign nation is a war crime, and that Clinton is therefore a war criminal, twice over. HRC kills two million Iraqis and destroys two countries and we hear about the plight of a woman sitting next to Trump on a plane. Or about a woman, Jill Garth, so traumatized by Trump's advances that she went and dated him.
In terms of suitability for governance, I want daily articles about 30,000 emails so sensitive that aides take the 5th and smash her devices to pieces with hammers. Nixon can't hold a candle.
Perhaps most important, the nation needs to know what a Democratic Crossover Ballot is, so everyone understands how HRC stole the election from Sanders in the most sickening way.
I defy the NYT editors to pick this letter. Not for your readership , which is duped beyond repair. Do it rather as a tribute to the great journalists of old who dug in a non-partisan way. Get some self-respect, NYT.
19
My first sexual assault occurred at age 10, in 1969. A boy in my 6th grade class openly declared his ambition to kiss every girl in the class before the end of the school year. The teachers and school administrators ignored him, and the librarian even held one girl in place so he could kiss her. He chased me up a hill to complete his goal.
Five years later, the boy was caught in the act of rape. I've never forgotten his name -- MC-- nor the name of his accomplice --TC. It's too late to bring them to justice, but I'm so grateful to the women who are standing up to bring their attackers to justice.
Five years later, the boy was caught in the act of rape. I've never forgotten his name -- MC-- nor the name of his accomplice --TC. It's too late to bring them to justice, but I'm so grateful to the women who are standing up to bring their attackers to justice.
37
Like it or not Mr Trump reflects thoughts and actions many if not most knuckle draggers have engaged in at one time or another in their braggadocio.
This is clearly stupid and adolescent talk, but not enough to qualify him as unfit to lead a nation which prides itself on the ability to conquer as the last word.
And it should not in any way shock a citizenry which allocates the majority of our taxes to the largest and most powerful military in the world, which like all the other militaries shows no qualms when it comes to killing women and children without any consideration beyond "peripheral damage."
I don't like Mr Trump's remarks, respect his stated policies or consider him as qualified for the Presidency, but not because he is an oaf with regard to women.
This is clearly stupid and adolescent talk, but not enough to qualify him as unfit to lead a nation which prides itself on the ability to conquer as the last word.
And it should not in any way shock a citizenry which allocates the majority of our taxes to the largest and most powerful military in the world, which like all the other militaries shows no qualms when it comes to killing women and children without any consideration beyond "peripheral damage."
I don't like Mr Trump's remarks, respect his stated policies or consider him as qualified for the Presidency, but not because he is an oaf with regard to women.
3
I engage in salty back-and-forth banter with men where they kid me about women stuff and I kid them about men stuff. We all have a good laugh. Let's not get TOO stuffy about banter between the sexes!
9
This was Trump's "47%" moment when we all found out he is 100% misogynistic pig.
33
DT keeps dismissing the 2005 recording as "just words". Does he even realize that what he's essentially telling us is that we shouldn't take anything he, candidate for president, says seriously?
60
If elected, Trump, at the option of the person speaking or writing, can be legitimately addressed as either "Mr. President" or "Mr. Pervert."
20
A long long time ago I managed a factory. Our president was an Ivy League MBA, a WWII pilot and a take-no-prisoners autocrat. But the division was a cash cow for a much larger corporation. One day, I had a union rep tell me that a supervisor was walking along an assembly line snapping female employee's bra straps if he thought they were slowing the line down. She had a petition in her hand signed by the entire shift. I pulled the supervisor into my office and fired him. Seemed like the "right" thing to do. My boss, called me in later in the day, and told me to reinstate the man, that, "boys will be boys." Just one of many stories I know of.
67
Trump is right about something else too. He's right that the election is rigged against him. It's rigged against racists. It's rigged against women haters. It's rigged against immigrant bashers. It's rigged against ignorance, lying, stupidity, climate change denial and those that seek to pull us down as opposed to uplift us. Because of our common and shared history, because of our intelligence, because of our goodness as a people, because of our free press and our right and ability to express ourselves and speak truth to power, the election is rigged against demagogues who would manipulate emotion to stoke people's fear, resentments and insecurities. Our election process is rigged alright - Trump just has no idea how or why.
19
Why is investigative reporting on Trump only beginning now? Where has the Fourth Estate been for the past year and a half? It's been giving free 24/7 publicity to Trump.
10
This is a frat culture, and now that we're acknowledging it, we're one step away from looking at the endless proliferation of movies that celebrates it and encourages men to never grow up. Why? Well, because - again - it's a frat culture, so these films make money. But it's also because men rule Hollywood.
The current uproar over objectifying women, so long overdue, will mean nothing if it doesn't lead to fundamental questions about women's voices and brains - the "body parts" that will never come up in studies of "what frat boys talk about." This uproar isn't only about what gets done to women; it's about what women don't get to do.
The current uproar over objectifying women, so long overdue, will mean nothing if it doesn't lead to fundamental questions about women's voices and brains - the "body parts" that will never come up in studies of "what frat boys talk about." This uproar isn't only about what gets done to women; it's about what women don't get to do.
6
If christian hypocrisy had a face it would be that of Mike Pence. In my lifetime there has never been a more repulsive ticket for the presidency than Trump/Pence. Every time I hear that Pence is a good christian I cringe. Trump wears his crazy on the outside, you have to look a little closer to see Pences, but it's there. You just have to look a little closer.
25
Just say it, Donald Trump is a sexual predator who feels entitled to assault women. He is the poster boy for the "rape culture" rampant across America on college campuses and in the military. His actions do speak louder than "locker room" words, and they promote the denigration and exploitation of women. There can be no debate and no endorsement of such a man. And, it's absolutely sickening to hear the tortured rationalization of men, and especially women, who continue to support someone who not only poses a threat to women, but to our very democracy.
14
Mr. Kristof disagrees with Pence's policy views and votes. That doesn't justify trying to smear him with Trump's crimes (any unwanted sexual touching is sexual battery, a crime everywhere).
In a functioning democracy, we do not tolerate sexual assault. We do respect those who disagree with us about policy.
In a functioning democracy, we do not tolerate sexual assault. We do respect those who disagree with us about policy.
It might be a bridge too far to try to hold Trump responsible for a way of talking and acting that was and still is widespread. If we have to kick out of office every man who talked (or perhaps even acted) like this on occasion, we will have a very empty government. Let's not lose focus and allow there to be any debate about whether he did these things. There are so many, many reasons that Trump is unqualified to be president. His language about women seems to have resonated so that's good. But it is basically just one more example of his failure to comprehend reality and his complete lack of self-control and maturity.
9
Mr. Trump's presidential campaign has to be the vilest, most degrading exercise in misogyny that I have ever witnessed. I am not a woman, and I feel like taking a shower to clean the stench every time I hear Mr. Trump. GOP, wake up! And clean your house (of ill repute)!
29
Trump says something like "not getting elected will have been his biggest waste of time." Here again, he only thinks about himself. What about all the people who wasted their time & money for him?
12
Crooked lying Trump, what a disgrace of a man, completely unscrupulous and irresponsible, a liar with a straight face when denying his, by now proven without a doubt, sexual predatory practice. It is unfortunate that domestic abuse is so prevalent in American society, that some men, guilty themselves, consider it as just "business as usual". Although shaming them is essential, it may not be enough to stop male aggression, an abuse of power that knows no barriers in our social construct. If it took the video for an update, and firmer action to prevent its bullying, this thug may have provided some service after all (Ugh!).
10
"Words" do count. Words can convince some people.. e.g. paranoid personality and borderline people who use "defensive splitting" - in which the word, or world is split into "all good", or "all bad"...And Bad gets tainted, and focused on as evil...Words can connect with people who cannot test reality.. and influence them ...We can't yell fire in a crowded theatre...
Like Jason in the Friday the Thirteenth horror franchise, it always seemed Trump was down and then - buoyed by his base - he found a way to rebound. This time, with early voting underway, the absence of a credible ground game in contested states, and the nature of his abuses, there's no time for him to rebound. He's done. All he can do in the time remaining until November 8th is to control the damage to his reputation, his businesses, and his family.
3
The moral outrage about Donald Trump's sexist behavior is highly illuminating within the discourse of political grandstanding in that these acts have been well known for years, and the media matrices have held this knowledge and chosen this moment to release it for public scrutiny. If people that pretend to be so offended by his character had known about these tapes and victims, then the time to conduct a pre-emptive strike to ensure that Trump could not win the White House, would have been at the beginning of the GOP POTUS primaries. That would have forestalled what appeared to be the initial tailwinds of populist propulsion for the Trump juggernaut. So, why now? I believe that a calculation was performed that concluded that any of the other standard menu GOP contenders would have been able to defeat Hillary,due to all her baggage that she cannot jettison, even to this day. In fact, it's piling up. And, Hillary needed a flamboyant villain to run against, in order to scare leftist voters into supporting her vs a mounting insurgency on the left, that showed very well in the Dem primaries. She had to steal that election with dirty tricks, even with Trump as the counter-evil choice.
6
DT is a unique figure but his chauvinistic attitudes and gross speech are pretty common across industries. I worked for a "midtown garmento" in the 90s. I resigned because of a "hostile and sexually charged work environment". The headhunter, a man, was irate because he lost his fee, but it was beyond intolerable to stay there. This happened right after the Clarence Thomas hearings--a legal friend of mine said I had a case, but I didn't pursue.
I can still smell the cheap cologne that permeated the entire office!
Ick!
I can still smell the cheap cologne that permeated the entire office!
Ick!
7
Words - spoken often enough - become actions. That is what fox so-called news and hate radio have proven. Turn them off.
39
Pence is the Devil and must be stopped in 2020 and forever.
15
donald must be defeated, he has a sick mind.
if hillary can do one thing, she can make a rule for all women to get first preference at everything. that would be good.
if hillary can do one thing, she can make a rule for all women to get first preference at everything. that would be good.
2
I am not a Trump supporter, however what he does have right is the Syria situation in that Obama and HRC can not provide a logical explanation as to why we are in Syria?......If rebels were armed, stop arming them and get away from Syria also do not bring any refugees here, we have homeless folks sleeping in the street and Obama and HRC wants to bring more refugees here and give them stuff that homeless here can not get.
Let the Russians and Syria handle ISIS, there is no reason for US to be there.
This is where Hillary can lose this election. Take care of Americans first and stay out of Syria and do not bring any more Syrian Refugees here. Obama and Hilary are so worried about immigrants and refugees while we have starving kids and homeless in America.
Let the Russians and Syria handle ISIS, there is no reason for US to be there.
This is where Hillary can lose this election. Take care of Americans first and stay out of Syria and do not bring any more Syrian Refugees here. Obama and Hilary are so worried about immigrants and refugees while we have starving kids and homeless in America.
6
Language does matter. When we reduce people to body parts it makes them less than human and establishes a distance between them and ourselves. The problem was recognized in medicine, where patients were identified by their disease. Michelle Bowdler said it best when she stated it made her feel as though she existed only as a thing. The words an individual speaks provide good clues to their character, and send off a warning as to how they will see and treat you.
13
The rope used to hang Crosby is going to be used again on Donald as more victims coming forward out of the shadow.
9
This is a perfect storm. Against any other candidate, Hillary's improprieties would be screaming from the headlines. This woman will be utter, total disaster for this country. She is probably the worst presidential candidate in our history. Except one: Donald Trump. His campaign has been so thunderously catastropic, Hillary has been able to slither inconspicuously amidst the chaos, relatively unnoticed, and thus she will slither into the presidency. What a mess.
8
I don't get why Billy Bush should pay in real life consequences for the ridiculous 5th grade locker room talk as bloviated by the Donald issued forth. Why do say that's good? We've got to get off this damn topic as outrageous as it is as Trump will keep throwing rocks at Bill and Hillary. Pointless all this. Get to economic issues, education, crime, the world situation in general and Aleppo now in point. Get off the bus. All to the LCD of the voting base. Go high a sMichelle Obama said, not low. On the 19th, I push for Hillary to talk issues and be steely and not smiling. Give him hell, Hillary.
10
This article makes a great point. It is not just Trump that is anti-female. It is the entire GOP and its policies that are very anti-female.
Look at how the GOP relentlessly tries to shut down Planned Parenthood. The fact that PP provides basic healthcare for women, cancer screening, birth control doesn't mean anything to them.
It is not just Trump who hates women- it is the entire GOP.
Look at how the GOP relentlessly tries to shut down Planned Parenthood. The fact that PP provides basic healthcare for women, cancer screening, birth control doesn't mean anything to them.
It is not just Trump who hates women- it is the entire GOP.
9
This column is a disappointment. Yes, Donald Trump is a lech, we all know that. I thought that Mr. Kristof would address the forgotten and economically battered people who find hope in Mr. Trump's campaign. Mr. Trump is right when he says that the system is rigged and unfair. What are the wonderful democrats going to do for the economically downtrodden people when Mr. Trump is gone? Do we just let their anger fester until it explodes?
5
Thank you for taking a few paragraphs to focus on Pence. Several Republicans have called for Trump to step down (which he's not going to do, and there's no mechanism I know of for the party to remove him, so they're stuck with him) and for Pence to head the ticket. Pence (like third-party candidates Jill Stein and Gary Johnson, and Bernie Sanders) has benefitted from being in large part an unknown quantity, a largely unfamiliar face on whose sketchy features voters could impose whatever they fancied. Whereas Hillary Clinton has suffered from the contempt bred by familiarity.
So thanks for pointing out that Pence looks moderate only compared to Trump. What a sad comment on the GOP that a candidate who doesn't froth at the mouth and send out demented tweets at 4 a.m. looks sane and electable - but that's what's scariest about Pence: voters might fall for his 'reasonable' façade.
So thanks for pointing out that Pence looks moderate only compared to Trump. What a sad comment on the GOP that a candidate who doesn't froth at the mouth and send out demented tweets at 4 a.m. looks sane and electable - but that's what's scariest about Pence: voters might fall for his 'reasonable' façade.
6
As long as we're talking about what Donald Trump is right about, let's discuss a substantive policy issue: Donald Trump is right that our current immigration system is harming working-class Americans.
Currently, approximately 30% of janitors, home health aides, and construction workers are foreign-born. That contrasts with approximately 10% of doctors, lawyers, and journalists in the US who are foreign-born. You don't need a Ph.D. in economics to know that means immigration is exerting stronger downward pressure on the wages of the former groups than on the wages of the latter ones.
But we'll wait a long time before we see Kristof or anyone else from the Times op-ed page wading into the impacts of flooded labor markets on American workers, with the same zeal they are currently showing to wade into the Donald's sophomoric sex transgressions.
Currently, approximately 30% of janitors, home health aides, and construction workers are foreign-born. That contrasts with approximately 10% of doctors, lawyers, and journalists in the US who are foreign-born. You don't need a Ph.D. in economics to know that means immigration is exerting stronger downward pressure on the wages of the former groups than on the wages of the latter ones.
But we'll wait a long time before we see Kristof or anyone else from the Times op-ed page wading into the impacts of flooded labor markets on American workers, with the same zeal they are currently showing to wade into the Donald's sophomoric sex transgressions.
5
It is my understanding that the word 'several' denotes more than two. So, it is incorrect to refer to two women who stepped forward as "several women".
3
The height of hypocrisy NYT! Your position is that the Republican party denigrates women, and at the same time you support the Democratic candidate
who has accepted multi millions in contributions into her political slush fund from individuals and countries which practice sharia law. In these places women are routinely executed by stoning, beheading;or mutilated, for "crimes", and are treated as sex slaves or objects. Your candidate is fine with importing vast numbers of these people into our country.
who has accepted multi millions in contributions into her political slush fund from individuals and countries which practice sharia law. In these places women are routinely executed by stoning, beheading;or mutilated, for "crimes", and are treated as sex slaves or objects. Your candidate is fine with importing vast numbers of these people into our country.
5
By the title of this article, I was expecting something positive to be written about Donald Trump. How foolish of me to think that the Times or any of the other liberal news outlets would say something favorable about him.
What Mr. Trump said was revolting and despicable and an embarrassment to all. It is strange though that when the allegations about Bill Clinton and his sexual exploits towards Monica Lewinsky and the other women were made during his presidency there was not the amount of outrage and disgust that we are seeing and hearing now. The silence was defeating and still is.
Bill Clinton was a Democrat and Donald Trump is a Republican. Mr. Trump is not liked for his conservative viewpoints and political right-wing leanings. Liberals detest all that Mr. Trump stands for and will use every opportunity to defame and crucify him. Many are seeing the hypocrisy shown between Bill Clinton and Donald Trump. Bill Clinton can do no harm and Donald Trump can do no good.
The Democrats just recently said some very anti-Catholic things about comservative Catholics and not a word from Mrs. Clinton condemning this. Why no comment? If the Republicans had done this the public would be up in arms. The press and Democrats are two faced and in the tank for Mrs. Clinton. It is very obvious.
What Mr. Trump said was revolting and despicable and an embarrassment to all. It is strange though that when the allegations about Bill Clinton and his sexual exploits towards Monica Lewinsky and the other women were made during his presidency there was not the amount of outrage and disgust that we are seeing and hearing now. The silence was defeating and still is.
Bill Clinton was a Democrat and Donald Trump is a Republican. Mr. Trump is not liked for his conservative viewpoints and political right-wing leanings. Liberals detest all that Mr. Trump stands for and will use every opportunity to defame and crucify him. Many are seeing the hypocrisy shown between Bill Clinton and Donald Trump. Bill Clinton can do no harm and Donald Trump can do no good.
The Democrats just recently said some very anti-Catholic things about comservative Catholics and not a word from Mrs. Clinton condemning this. Why no comment? If the Republicans had done this the public would be up in arms. The press and Democrats are two faced and in the tank for Mrs. Clinton. It is very obvious.
12
I loved it when Trump claimed he had only CLAIMED to be a sex offender. I see, if you really want to impress people, claim to be a sex offender?! That would imply that either Trump was in fact a sex offender (as he boasted), or that he just wanted Billy Bush and others to THINK he was a sex offender. Brilliant guy, that Trump.
21
I met a woman last year at Christie's auction house. She once worked in management at a modeling agency. She said she'd been to Mar-al-Lago, "Trump's brothel" with models being the service providers. I didn't doubt her.
Still, this is not what makes him unfit to be President. It's his ignorance, arrogance, inexperience, impulsivity, immaturity, narcissism and disconnect from reality that matter more.
Still, this is not what makes him unfit to be President. It's his ignorance, arrogance, inexperience, impulsivity, immaturity, narcissism and disconnect from reality that matter more.
21
I respectfully disagree.
The words Trump spoke led to that Milquetoast Bush pushing the first woman they encounter after their filthy dialogue to kiss Trump. He was, in his wussy way, demonstrating to Trump that he kew how to push around women too.
Further, I think Trump's own rather cool reaction to the kiss was an alpha-male reaction to little Billy taking the lead in a sexual aggression encounter.
Notwithstanding that caveat, you column was, as usual, excellent.
The words Trump spoke led to that Milquetoast Bush pushing the first woman they encounter after their filthy dialogue to kiss Trump. He was, in his wussy way, demonstrating to Trump that he kew how to push around women too.
Further, I think Trump's own rather cool reaction to the kiss was an alpha-male reaction to little Billy taking the lead in a sexual aggression encounter.
Notwithstanding that caveat, you column was, as usual, excellent.
6
If the guy is all talk and not action, so what? It does not excuse his talk.
And it casts doubt on every other claim he makes.
And it casts doubt on every other claim he makes.
12
It behooves me how decent people may vote for Trump. I hope only the deplorables stick with him to the end and he end up in the single digits on November 8, because over 90% of the people in American are decent folk. I hope that 90% is also clear thinking.
11
Good grief, how will the Trump-Pence ticket deal with the policies on women's dress that they would both love to invoke? Pence would put us all in Burkas; Trump will demand bikinis. What's a woman to do...
24
What is unfortunate, is all the space & time, being spilled on his moral inappropriateness, rather than address all his other failures..in business, his complete lack of world,economic,social, real politic issues..as well as his limited vocabulary use of any words more than one syllable, except for "tremendous," which he uses to explain..well everything!.
18
just stop writing and talking about this cartoon character, who as the whole world is discovering, is a pathetic excuse for a man.
12
It's high time that complaints from women about sexual assaults and vulgar comments and behavior are taken seriously. I applaud all those who are now demanding full investigations and accountability, and who will not accept weak excuses and lies. Amazing how things have changed in the past 25 or so years. Back then women such as Jennifer Flowers were dismissed, vilified and ridiculed by many people, much the same crowd who support Hillary today, and amazingly by a huge number of women as well. Amazing turn of events.
8
How ironic that the first Madame President of the United States faces off against the most blatant sexist imaginable. Add his ability to slither his way to the top of the Republican Party and you have a very dangerous man who has already greatly harmed this country, the consequences of which will be felt long after the election.
32
What Trump is 'right' about but for the wrong reason: The USA is in a big mess with many in the world laughing at us. Reason: The GOP's behavior for the past 36 years culminating with Trump / Pence as the nominees for President / Vice President.
31
I'm not going to read all the comments below, they'll just aggravate me even more, especially the trolls that will say that Bill Clinton did it too. Well Bill is not running for President, and he was busted for his transgressions even though they were consensual based on testimony. That frat boys are right in the Trump camp doesn't surprise after teaching at Berkeley for 23 years with an office near the frat houses. Many of the "frat boy" alumnus are major contributors to Cal football. Seems like a link there to me.
13
Morning Joe was expressing skepticism this morning about "Why did it take so long, and why did all these women wait until now to come forward?"
Look no farther than the life and career of a certain Mr. Bill Cosby.
It's pretty simple, Joe. People (not just women) are afraid of powerful men with lots of money.
Look no farther than the life and career of a certain Mr. Bill Cosby.
It's pretty simple, Joe. People (not just women) are afraid of powerful men with lots of money.
25
Now we know that when Trump says "Nice to meet you" to a woman, what he really means is "Nice, you meat you".
9
If Billy Bush can get fired from NBC for his bus ride rape culture chit chat with DT, why won't NBC stop giving slavish round the clock coverage to Trump? Trump is a racist, xenophobic, homophobic, misogynistic lying avatar of bullying straight white male rape culture. Despite this, he was a guest on Saturday Night Live and other NBC shows as if he's just a regular guy. To NBC and all the media: stop enabling this monster.
18
Yes. Donald Trump is being revealed for what he really is.
For those watching, anyway.
The good news is -- this is all finally coming out.
The bad news is -- it took so long.
Of course there will be those who will continue to support him.
Let them....just as long as it's not into the White House.
For those watching, anyway.
The good news is -- this is all finally coming out.
The bad news is -- it took so long.
Of course there will be those who will continue to support him.
Let them....just as long as it's not into the White House.
10
It's too bad Billy Bush had to pay the price for this. Of all the Bushes, he's the only one who actually did damage to Trump's campaign!
3
What's all the fighting about between you 2, Mr. Kristof? Both u and Trump live in lily white communities,in mansions, and send your progeny to ivy league schools.And you are both 1 percenters, although DT's assets no doubt exceed your own.You have more in common with each other than with the average voter. Trump graduated from U.of Penn.; you graduated from Harvard.And neither of you was in the military nor has ever visited the Hood.Of more interest to the average voter should be the moonlighting done by supposedly independent members of the media for HRC's campaign, and reinforces suspicions among many voters that the game is rigged for Clinton.Do you really think that we r so obtuse that we would take seriously allegations of sexual abuse by DT allegedly committed over 2 decades ago, and not see this as a distraction from Bill Clinton's abuse of women committed while he was Arkansas a.g., and Hillary's manifold cover ups of her own ethically questionable behavior?If u r upset at an injustice of which u have been the victim, u do not wait decades to publicize your grievance."Quant a nous, on n'est pas bete!"
3
Alal, some men take the high road (NK) and some men take the low road (DT). Small men take the low road.
2
Hi Nick, thanks for sharing the letter from the husband concerning his wife's care during her dying hours. It brought tears to my eyes. Beautifully written!
George Tattersfield
George Tattersfield
1
These newest allegations are pure garbage. It's too bad the New York Times isn't more fair in what it prints. The Washington Post printed an excellent unbiased article on Donald Trump that spelled out the dangers of a Clinton presidency. Read "Egghead For Trump", by professor Daniel Bonevac. Maybe a more honest perspective will lead to better decision making.
7
DJT is obnoxious especially in debate II with annoying sniffling.
Admittedly gutsy, enjoying unique political success. he excites and frightens.
Street smart & talented, masterfully manipulating media & mesmerizing mobs.
He's the most effective sales personality nationally since Ronald Reagan.
Charisma with cynicism (anger) based in populism works a la Benito, Francisco, Juan Peron, Fidel etc.
Loyal true believers are that thirty-six percent.
Well, isn't he ultimately another genuine phony, Tip?
Conceivably elected POTUS because polls are polls.
Admittedly gutsy, enjoying unique political success. he excites and frightens.
Street smart & talented, masterfully manipulating media & mesmerizing mobs.
He's the most effective sales personality nationally since Ronald Reagan.
Charisma with cynicism (anger) based in populism works a la Benito, Francisco, Juan Peron, Fidel etc.
Loyal true believers are that thirty-six percent.
Well, isn't he ultimately another genuine phony, Tip?
Conceivably elected POTUS because polls are polls.
3
There's a difference between being rude
And behaving licentious and lewd.
As the evidence shows,
Donald Trump has no clothes
He charades himself 'round in the nude.
And behaving licentious and lewd.
As the evidence shows,
Donald Trump has no clothes
He charades himself 'round in the nude.
5
Is Mr. Trump's behavior identified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders? He appears to having a major blowout. Where are the psychiatrists and psychotherapists to help explain? Obviously, he didn't receive therapy for his troubles, and is using the stage to demonstrate his troubled pathology. I would really like the mental health diagnosticians to start chiming in. COME ON! Help us out here please!
7
As we are discovering, not that we should in any way be surprised, Trump's actions are indistinguishable from his words. The same goes for his running mate.
www.endthemadnessnow.org
www.endthemadnessnow.org
8
Enough words of condemnation! If it talks like a predator and acts like a predator, it is a predator.
But does it matter when Congress voted in a predatory Supreme Court justice who went on to limit civil rights and support every single right-wing cause.
Remember Anita Hill and be careful what you wish for.
But does it matter when Congress voted in a predatory Supreme Court justice who went on to limit civil rights and support every single right-wing cause.
Remember Anita Hill and be careful what you wish for.
3
I'm not sure why we still need more press coverage, editorial perspective devoted to Trump, especially an entire article in the NY Times opinion section on words are different than actions.
I am sure that Jonathan Bush, Billy Bush's father, who is also President George H.W. Bush's younger brother---which of course makes Billy Bush President George W. Bush and his brother Jeb Bush, former primary contestant and loser to Donald Trump, first cousins.......I'm sure the whole Bush Family, including his aunt the former Ms. Walker, are very happy that Billy could disgrace himself AND the evil, potty-mouthed Donald the Menace (to the Bush Family.) Another sad Modern Family---but not the Fox Sit Com. Shouldn't this be News Fit to Print---- at least beneath the fold?
2
Trump has empowered lots of people to do lots of awful and dangerous and often unconstitutional things. You want to protest something? He's given people the permission to "beat the crap" out of you. Want to grope a woman? Go ahead. Your would-be president did it. Don't like the ethnicity of a judge? Ask for a new one. Don't like your president? Maybe you should exercise your Second Amendment right. Want to make fun of the disabled? Have at it. And, yes, yes, threaten suits against every person and media outlet you don't particularly like. And, yes, take every opportunity to lie and make up stories. Go ahead, I do it all the time. Your Enabler-in Chief gives you permission.
6
Hey, Nicholas -
Not having read ALL your stuff, please remind me how credible do you find Juanita Broaddrick’s claims of Bill Clinton raping her? (Whether or not you think it’s pertinent to the candidacy of Hillary Clinton)...
Thank you very much.
Sincerely,
--Jeff
Not having read ALL your stuff, please remind me how credible do you find Juanita Broaddrick’s claims of Bill Clinton raping her? (Whether or not you think it’s pertinent to the candidacy of Hillary Clinton)...
Thank you very much.
Sincerely,
--Jeff
1
Jeff, just because we had one guy like that in the White House, doesn't mean we need another.
1
Ironic, isn't it? "Just Words"
Trump would want his supporters to believe his words at his rallies, but not in the tapes.
Even his running mate, Mike Pence, shook his head no when Trump's words were mentioned by Hillary Clinton during the last debate. Just words - Pence begs us to differentiate - truthful "just words" or deceitful "just words."
How is this teaching our kids to speak, especially our teenagers, who will be on their own in a few years, supposed responsible honorable adults. When caught in fibs, or vulgar language, or racist remarks, is Trump teaching our kids it is ok to use "just words" to justify the unacceptable?
The unacceptable world Trump lives in cannot be rationalized by the term "just words" because it puts our kids in a very dangerous position. They are too young and inexperienced to realize it. Trump is supposed to be a grown up.
Trump would want his supporters to believe his words at his rallies, but not in the tapes.
Even his running mate, Mike Pence, shook his head no when Trump's words were mentioned by Hillary Clinton during the last debate. Just words - Pence begs us to differentiate - truthful "just words" or deceitful "just words."
How is this teaching our kids to speak, especially our teenagers, who will be on their own in a few years, supposed responsible honorable adults. When caught in fibs, or vulgar language, or racist remarks, is Trump teaching our kids it is ok to use "just words" to justify the unacceptable?
The unacceptable world Trump lives in cannot be rationalized by the term "just words" because it puts our kids in a very dangerous position. They are too young and inexperienced to realize it. Trump is supposed to be a grown up.
4
And some people, many of them women, say they're going to vote for Trump because "Clinton lied". How's that for irony?
9
The author is an intelligent person who has written a tightly argued, well crafted condemnation of Trump. So why the gratuitious mention of an absurd on its face statistic that men on that (self-selecting) fraternity website are 25 times more likely to use certain inappropriate words?
What was the control group? People who don't visit this site? How on earth would one do that study?
The author knows better, his anti-fraternity bias doesn't.
What was the control group? People who don't visit this site? How on earth would one do that study?
The author knows better, his anti-fraternity bias doesn't.
Can you imagine what Trump was thinking as he stalked Hillary around that stage?
We certainly know what he does when he wants to show who is boss.
We certainly know what he does when he wants to show who is boss.
6
Unfortunately it seems that nothing can bring this person down, he just keeps on going no matter what he has done, said, incited, etc.--it is embarrassing to see what some of us are made of and how no matter how disgraceful a person is they are still encouraging him to become our president! Bottom line I always come to is parents how do you explain this to your children? It's ok for someone who aspires to be our president to mock, grope, insult, demean, incite violence, but you should not.
4
As troubling as it is, I can understand why many men, who didn’t flinch at Trump’s so-called locker room banter, continue to support him. They seem to share his crass attitude toward women, among many, many other groups of people. It’s easy for them to give Trump a pass.
As for many of the women who likewise continue to embrace Trump, their remarks remind me of those battered wives who insist on staying with their abusive husbands: He’ll change (pivot). He really wants what’s best for me. He doesn’t mean all the mean things he says.
They want to believe their man – despite all he’s said and done – because they desperately want their awful world to somehow improve.
As for many of the women who likewise continue to embrace Trump, their remarks remind me of those battered wives who insist on staying with their abusive husbands: He’ll change (pivot). He really wants what’s best for me. He doesn’t mean all the mean things he says.
They want to believe their man – despite all he’s said and done – because they desperately want their awful world to somehow improve.
12
The man is a pig, please people stop trying to normalize Mr. Trump. Vote for him or not but he is not normal, something is wrong with that man.
15
Does one of your links connect to the many Howard Stern audiotapes, on which Donald Trump boasts about his sexual conquests and privilege?
2
To Trump's suggestion that Hillary should be jailed, I'd say that given his rather medieval behavior, Trump should be placed in the pillory on the National Mall with Lincoln watching and the ones he insulted be allowed to throw at him whatever they feel like; it would be a fitting punishment; after which America will have a woman president and the country will never fall this low, ever again!
5
You're not getting it. Don and his supporters want to free themselves from the unbearable shackles of not being politically correct! That's the great sin here amongst us liberals: not having the freedom to use hateful insults, euphemisms, or stereotypes is tremendous sacrifice to Trump supporters. Why the hell should they have to adhere to that? It's a free country, isn't it?
3
Where were all the press and you when other Presidents - JFK, LBJ, Ike,FDR-had their females companions around them ?
2
Wondered if the Christianity Today journalists were as horrified by the money earned by Colin Powell, $9,000,000 first year out of State Dept for speeches, another similar amount in a book deal. Same for Condi Rice, Carter, Bush, etc etc.........Or was it just the Clintons wealth that seemed evil concentrated power? Does the fact that she spoke to a few financials become balanced by the income from bakers, deli owners, teachers, scrap dealers, the dozens of other groups listed on the tax returns? Or the book income? We call their concern bogus.
The Christian right routinely endorse the same GOP guys groaning in disgust at Donald's glad hands and foul mouth, the same guys who vote NO to equal pay for women, access to education for all, funding for medical services (including contraception) for all women. Their disgust with Donald rings hollow. Very hollow. This group use 'religious freedom' to explain away their misogyny and homophobia and racism.
The Christian right routinely endorse the same GOP guys groaning in disgust at Donald's glad hands and foul mouth, the same guys who vote NO to equal pay for women, access to education for all, funding for medical services (including contraception) for all women. Their disgust with Donald rings hollow. Very hollow. This group use 'religious freedom' to explain away their misogyny and homophobia and racism.
11
Thank you for writing about Trump's actions and showing that he hasn't just bragged about assaulting women, but has done it. However, I contend with the argument that just saying words doesn't matter. They do. If words didn't matter, we wouldn't have the First Amendment. If words didn't matter, there wouldn't have been so many people reacting in horror to the leaked video. And if it hadn't been for the leaked words, perhaps the women now telling their stories (in words) wouldn't have started telling them. The reason for the collective reaction to the leaked video is because Trump's words told us who he is. (Never mind that everything he had been telling us up to that point was also a horror show.) His words (and the way he says them) are what have drawn a plurality of supporters to him; they could care less about his actions. The women's stories are confirming it. I don't know why so many people and especially the media have been ignoring Trump's actions for so long, but they haven't spoken louder than his words have, whether it's talking about building a wall, deporting people because of their religion, suggesting his supporters should assassinate Clinton, vowing he's going to have her imprisoned and on and on.
2
Trump is right about him being very very wrong. Oh wait, if he knew that, he wouldn't be a sociopath.
1
Well, if Donald Trump has engaged in "heinous actions" he and Bill Clinton are even, but still let's give Bill credit for actually raping a woman. Way to go Bill, we can't wait for you to get back in the White House! Cheers!
3
Mr. Kristof is right that often men speak of women in demeaning ways. Also he points out that, every year, about 550,000 women require medical attention after an assault.
Readers of this column doubtless will feel outraged (rightly).
But now I have a question for Mr. Kristof and for you the reader. Look at this recent peer-reviewed article in the Journal of Patient Safety: http://patientsafetyamerica.com/wp-content/uploads/A_New_Evidence_based_...
It seems that, each year, the medical system, through negligence, kills a huge number of people: "...the true number of premature deaths associated with preventable harm to patients was estimated at more than 400,000 per year."
I bring this up all the time in conversations. The reaction is "ain't that awful." I mention it to doctors. They don't care. The only people who react are those who have had a friend or loved one harmed or killed by the system.
Ask around. You will see.
Now read the article. Observe the effect it has on you.
If you are a strong feminist, you will stay outraged about abuses of the sort Mr. Kristof speaks of. Excellent; yet in no time at all you will forget about this article.
Why? It concludes, not only that our medical system kills 400,000 people a year, but that "Serious harm seems to be 10- to 20-fold more common than lethal harm."
So why are you going to forget about it? And why does Mr. Kristof never bring it up?
Readers of this column doubtless will feel outraged (rightly).
But now I have a question for Mr. Kristof and for you the reader. Look at this recent peer-reviewed article in the Journal of Patient Safety: http://patientsafetyamerica.com/wp-content/uploads/A_New_Evidence_based_...
It seems that, each year, the medical system, through negligence, kills a huge number of people: "...the true number of premature deaths associated with preventable harm to patients was estimated at more than 400,000 per year."
I bring this up all the time in conversations. The reaction is "ain't that awful." I mention it to doctors. They don't care. The only people who react are those who have had a friend or loved one harmed or killed by the system.
Ask around. You will see.
Now read the article. Observe the effect it has on you.
If you are a strong feminist, you will stay outraged about abuses of the sort Mr. Kristof speaks of. Excellent; yet in no time at all you will forget about this article.
Why? It concludes, not only that our medical system kills 400,000 people a year, but that "Serious harm seems to be 10- to 20-fold more common than lethal harm."
So why are you going to forget about it? And why does Mr. Kristof never bring it up?
Great article.
Don't you find it odd that the ACA gives poor women with subsidized policies screening for cancer but not treatment if they actually have it unless huge deductibles are met?
Don't you find it odd that the ACA gives poor women with subsidized policies screening for cancer but not treatment if they actually have it unless huge deductibles are met?
1
I have a long time family friend who's a staunch Trump supporter and he always tries to kiss me on the lips and rub my back for two seconds too long when we see each other every 6 months or so. I'm always turning away to avoid it and cringing. I wonder if there's a connection between gross kisses and Trump supporters?
3
What impact will Trump's behavior have on his businesses once he's defeated? It could be an ugly bottom line for his hotels and golf courses once people stay away in droves. More bankruptcies on the horizon?
4
The most important part of this column is the statement "What is dehumanizing is not necessarily dirty words as such, but rather the casual braggadocio by men that normalizes assault" and the wake-up call to regard sexist epithets as harmless. They reflect and encourage a demeaning attitude (and actions) toward women and shouldn't be accepted by anyone.
10
Has anyone commented on the haunted and hunted looks of the Trump women during the last debate? To me Melanie and Ivanka looked haggard and wounded. Even when they were smiling they looked like the faces of the abused women I have seen in the ER on call being evaluated during a domestic dispute. Strained smiles but very sad eyes. What it must be like to be a woman in that Trump family!
23
As a white male, I feel I have the right to say that Donald Trump is the perfect, living, breathing, example of poor white trash who inherited millions and millions of dollars. The money can't hide that he is still trash.
24
Although words matter less than actions, so far Trump's plans for his presidency are just words. He has no track record of doing anything useful for the public. So let's call him out next time he talks about his plans to defeat ISIS or to deport immigrants--"they are just words".
13
Too funny. A U.S. ship is attacked and the NYTimes columnists turn away and keep writing about sex and locker rooms. Hey it's a lot more fun, I know. But remember that next time you complain about the 'uninformed electorate'.
9
The attack's on the darn front page, though for some reason the Times did feel it necessary to report on the Republican candidate for President's history of sexual assault and lying.
Everything about Trump is retching, but, the thought of slippery Bill Clinton, coming in the back door and finding easy prey is also revolting.
5
It would help Democrats' credibility if they had been as outraged about allegations of Bill Clinton's sexual predations as they are now outraged about Trump's. The only material difference is that Clinton tried to hide his actions while Trump brags about his.
6
Bizarre anti-abortion bill is euphemistic. Read HB1335. Just one piece of various senseless legislation signed by Mike Pence as furthered by the Republican-dominated legislature. We who live in Indiana and have followed Mike Pence's politics are just as fearful of him as we are of Trump. Let us be vigilant when it comes to men who hide behind their religion to abuse and control women. Let us not give them power to continue to do so by giving them opportunities in political positions.
17
Even a stopped clock is accurate twice a day.
Trump and Pencewill destroy America's economy -- along with Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan, and the rest of the Republican Party which approved Trump as their candidate for President of the United States!
Vote Republicans out of office, or try to survive their election!
Trump and Pencewill destroy America's economy -- along with Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan, and the rest of the Republican Party which approved Trump as their candidate for President of the United States!
Vote Republicans out of office, or try to survive their election!
11
Trump is a bad messenger, but he was right when, some months ago, he said that 1) Bush lied about Iraq and 2) didn't protect us from the terrorist attack of 9/11.
I would never vote for him, but I'm glad he said these truths out loud.
I would never vote for him, but I'm glad he said these truths out loud.
8
Reminder: It is HILARY Clinton who is running for presidency NOT BILL!
For those who are not history buffs:
Bill Clinton was US President 1993 to 2001 and was impeached for his behavior! Secretary Clinton had nothing to do with her husband's infidelity.
STOP blaming women for their husbands' cheating and affairs!!!
For those who are not history buffs:
Bill Clinton was US President 1993 to 2001 and was impeached for his behavior! Secretary Clinton had nothing to do with her husband's infidelity.
STOP blaming women for their husbands' cheating and affairs!!!
21
Yes, absolutely correct. However, the issue now is Hillary's attack on the women allegedly abused by Bill, and her very public comments that her husband was innocent and the scandal was a result of a Republican conspiracy. So, blast Trump for his words and actions. He deserves it. But selective memory over the various Bill Clinton womanizing and sexual harassment claims, dismissed by Hillary as a fictitious political conspiracy, is doing a disservice to Bill's victims. Hillary is getting away with it, again.
5
You are correct. Plus Bill's affairs were with consenting adults. Trumps gropes were all with non consent. There is a difference.
You mentioned his sexual actions. I would like to know how his supporters think he will help the little guy when over his whole career he has stiffed the little guy. For a man who says he is worth $ Billions, why does he need to not pay small contractor and businesses for the work they provided. Do his loyal supporter think he will treat them any different if he is elected? After he gets what he wants for you, you are useless, nothing, to him.
19
It is outright frightening to think that a dirty talking guy who may well have acted his talk is trying to break into the White House! What is scarier is that the GOP leadership and many millions across our land will still support him!! Folks Halloween's round the corner and we adults can get scared while our children are exposed to all this gutter vocabulary.
5
Why are people surprised? Any woman or man who's been sexually assaulted knew from Trump's big mouth and Pence's lack of spine where they stood on the subject of women as human beings. We are not brood mares or toys.
15
All this shows the hypocrisy in the GOP. They are obsessed with people's sex lives, women's health issues and who you should love and marry yet they want to send a sexual predator to the white house to represent the American people. Just look at Mike Pence, he comes across with this holier than thou attitude but continues to support Trump.
4
In the immortal words of Walter Cronkite,"That's the way it is."
3
Trump is so creepy that even my mom - a woman who thinks Fox is too far left - told me she'd be afraid to ride alone in an elevator with him.
17
What a clever move, Kristof, disguise the title of your column as something positive about Trump and use the whole article to trash him. I hope he wins and you and all your other weak editors lose your jobs in this traitorous paper.
4
...as if anyone here cares about what a Trumpist in Sardinia thinks.
7
He won't be winning any election in this country. He's not Berlusconi.
Nichoals Kristof lives on the high road, when he takes his gloves off, pay attention.
9
Let's not forget that Trump has encouraged his follows to "hang" Hillary and "lock her up." He also stalked her on stage at the last debate. Trump is not just going after his opponent, he is demonstrating his sheer hatred of women. As the most powerful woman in America, Hillary frightens Trump to the core because he has built his life around degrading women.
15
After personally declaring that Man-baby Trump is vile, really vile, so many times, in so many ways, I'm fatigued. This must be Trump's strategy: wear out your critics with a tsunami of reasons to be disgusted.
How, oh how, will I ever be able to relate to my sibling(s) who support this abomination?
How, oh how, will I ever be able to relate to my sibling(s) who support this abomination?
5
Trump is right about Hillary & Bill owning the media.
6
There is a solution - possibly the only one viable solution - to the problem of the Trump candidacy.
GOP, RNC, and Republican leaders everywhere must condemn the ongoing deceptive, despicable, dangerous, and delirious election process of 2016 being promoted by Trump, his campaign staff, and his close followers.
Everything about Trump is intolerable, repugnant, and despicable.
Party leaders must immediately focus on the 2020 election.
Call it having 20/20 eyesight.
The damage being done by Trump and his entourage to both the GOP and the country at large is immeasurable.
Is the Party able to look down the road? I hope so, even though it is this failing that has put them and us in this current untenable position.
Let us hope that the GOP and its leaders will consider the following:
Do not become an enabler of the Trump dictatorial juggernaut.
Fall on your sword - with grace, sincerity, decency, and dignity.
You will be the better for it ......... and so will we all.
By your patriotic action the Republican Party and the country you save will be your own. Spare us as a country from any further embarrassment in the eyes of the world.
Make this necessary sacrifice NOW and prepare for a worthwhile and reasonable campaign in 2020 with a decent and honorable candidate that we can support with dignity.
I beseech you to follow this course of action immediately ...... as time is obviously of the essence.
GOP, RNC, and Republican leaders everywhere must condemn the ongoing deceptive, despicable, dangerous, and delirious election process of 2016 being promoted by Trump, his campaign staff, and his close followers.
Everything about Trump is intolerable, repugnant, and despicable.
Party leaders must immediately focus on the 2020 election.
Call it having 20/20 eyesight.
The damage being done by Trump and his entourage to both the GOP and the country at large is immeasurable.
Is the Party able to look down the road? I hope so, even though it is this failing that has put them and us in this current untenable position.
Let us hope that the GOP and its leaders will consider the following:
Do not become an enabler of the Trump dictatorial juggernaut.
Fall on your sword - with grace, sincerity, decency, and dignity.
You will be the better for it ......... and so will we all.
By your patriotic action the Republican Party and the country you save will be your own. Spare us as a country from any further embarrassment in the eyes of the world.
Make this necessary sacrifice NOW and prepare for a worthwhile and reasonable campaign in 2020 with a decent and honorable candidate that we can support with dignity.
I beseech you to follow this course of action immediately ...... as time is obviously of the essence.
One can't help but wonder how Mr. Trump might have turned out differently if his father weren't so publicly ashamed of him.
3
The New York Times now reads like the National Enquirer, but Kristof, who normally never stops calling for humanitarian military interventions as the neolib conscience at the NYT, wants to talk Trump, and beauty pageants!
Perversely, it's kind of fitting that the American Newspaper of Record has chosen to wallow in confused sleaze. It is a mirror image of the electorate, which has failed Democracy by its ignorance.
Two great ideas appeared briefly in this election cycle. One of them was to get along with Russia, because we in fact can't go to war with a nuclear armed Russia...unless we are feeling suicidal. While the nut wing war hawk HRC wants to set up a confrontation with Russia by installing a no fly zone in Syria, in support of I'd guess ISIS, which would benefit the most from Russian compliance.
The other great idea was to break up the money banks, which have all become shadow banks, because they live or die, not by doing banking, but by their repo desks, which must borrow overnight eighty billion or so per bank in order to trade on the days collateral.
Given the beating that Trump has taken it's easy to see why Bernie took to the Green Mountains rather than to continue the fight for sane and simple banking regulations, which would force banks back into the business of banking. I mean Hell! Jill Stein is now being referred to as a terrorist on Liberal Facebook Pages.
Do we deserve a Newspaper of Record, which echoes the National Enquirer? You bet we do.
Perversely, it's kind of fitting that the American Newspaper of Record has chosen to wallow in confused sleaze. It is a mirror image of the electorate, which has failed Democracy by its ignorance.
Two great ideas appeared briefly in this election cycle. One of them was to get along with Russia, because we in fact can't go to war with a nuclear armed Russia...unless we are feeling suicidal. While the nut wing war hawk HRC wants to set up a confrontation with Russia by installing a no fly zone in Syria, in support of I'd guess ISIS, which would benefit the most from Russian compliance.
The other great idea was to break up the money banks, which have all become shadow banks, because they live or die, not by doing banking, but by their repo desks, which must borrow overnight eighty billion or so per bank in order to trade on the days collateral.
Given the beating that Trump has taken it's easy to see why Bernie took to the Green Mountains rather than to continue the fight for sane and simple banking regulations, which would force banks back into the business of banking. I mean Hell! Jill Stein is now being referred to as a terrorist on Liberal Facebook Pages.
Do we deserve a Newspaper of Record, which echoes the National Enquirer? You bet we do.
5
You make a good point about the reporting on the presidential campaign and the lowering of the level of discourse about it. Surely there should be someplace where issues take precedence over titillation and gossip, but the Times has apparently abdicated this role.
1
Silly me, when I read the headline, for one tiny instant I thought the Times might be willing to acknowledge that working class whites' livelihoods and communities have indeed been decimated by globalist elites. But, no, only Mr. Edsel and Mr. Cohen are able to admit the obvious. I notice no one writes about the COST of extending and expanding US military presence in Africa and the Middle East, either. Clearly, the Times thinks that Trump's personal behavior is more important to the media than the lives of literally millions of Americans. Or is anyone who questions the Times' priorities "deplorable"?
6
A TRULY dispiriting, indeed terrifying, aspect of the Trump ascendancy is that come election day 50,000,000 American voters will not only vote for American’s answer to Randall Flagg, but that they will become charter members of Trump’s new alt-right political organization.
Hissing at their loss of the presidency with the rage of a violated rattlesnake nest, and fortified with what is sure to be its’ fledgling alt-right noise network, they will continue the work their messiah and his Breitbart-born disciples put in motion.
They won’t be gone, they’ll just have gone to ground. They’ll have simply become a sleeper cell, a venomous 50,000,000-strong vigilante group seeking the return of “THEIR country”, knowingly talking about “THOSE people” and hating the ever-growing diversity that has always been America’s premier asset.
And all this because we’ve had the temerity to elect a Black man president of the United States.
How unimaginably sad to hate so very much!
Hissing at their loss of the presidency with the rage of a violated rattlesnake nest, and fortified with what is sure to be its’ fledgling alt-right noise network, they will continue the work their messiah and his Breitbart-born disciples put in motion.
They won’t be gone, they’ll just have gone to ground. They’ll have simply become a sleeper cell, a venomous 50,000,000-strong vigilante group seeking the return of “THEIR country”, knowingly talking about “THOSE people” and hating the ever-growing diversity that has always been America’s premier asset.
And all this because we’ve had the temerity to elect a Black man president of the United States.
How unimaginably sad to hate so very much!
25
This photo is worth ten thousand words.
3
Donald Trump's 5th Grade male voter base always thought that women's suffrage meant women should always and eternally suffer from the boorish brawn and stupidity of male dominance bloviators.
Wait until Trump's Troglodytes find out that women's suffrage actually means that women have the right to vote on November 8.
Sorry, cavemen... modernity won...and you lost.
Wait until Trump's Troglodytes find out that women's suffrage actually means that women have the right to vote on November 8.
Sorry, cavemen... modernity won...and you lost.
105
I can only hope that's the outcome on Nov 8 ! It's about time for modernity. The Trump caveman campaign is despicable.
2
Your name does NOT match your intelligent statement here. All this is Demoncratic garbage, so they don't have to talk about Hillary's non-record, or any achievements. Trump 2016.
2
Is it hypocritical to demean a whole class of people for supporting a man that you think demeans a whole class of people? Is it right to point out the sins of their candidate and at the same time that you justify the sins of your candidate? Is it virtuous to denounce their candidate's callousness while mocking the suffering of his supporters?
1
Psychopaths spew word salad.
The psychopath then leaves it up to the listener to make sense of the word salad to fit their own narrative.
And most sympathetic listeners give the benefit of the doubt to the psychopath (who they believe by this time have their best interests at heart) that what they have heard is real and beneficial to the listener, because they are not psychopaths.
The psychopath then leaves it up to the listener to make sense of the word salad to fit their own narrative.
And most sympathetic listeners give the benefit of the doubt to the psychopath (who they believe by this time have their best interests at heart) that what they have heard is real and beneficial to the listener, because they are not psychopaths.
1
Who do I believe, people saying Clinton and Trump belongs in jail? Then there's an endless parade of women who thought they had more to offer than Bill and Donald actually wanted. Hillary and Donald tell us like some Marvel Comic superheros stand between us and the apocalypse. Gun sales are up.
Energy experts here in Houston are still in denial about the oil glut much like the real estate people are in denial about the housing supply. They remind us we are not in a recession. I really shouldn't be concerned about mundane things like energy prices, dropping home values and the next recession. They'l'll tell us after the election what their policy will be. Or maybe not.
Wouldn't it be great if they announced their cabinets during the campaign. Al in charge of energy and Rudy in charge law enforement. Maybe they aren't super hero's after all.
Energy experts here in Houston are still in denial about the oil glut much like the real estate people are in denial about the housing supply. They remind us we are not in a recession. I really shouldn't be concerned about mundane things like energy prices, dropping home values and the next recession. They'l'll tell us after the election what their policy will be. Or maybe not.
Wouldn't it be great if they announced their cabinets during the campaign. Al in charge of energy and Rudy in charge law enforement. Maybe they aren't super hero's after all.
I know it's not politically correct and I'm not condoning Trump's comments or behavior, or similar behavior from anyone else. But I have yet to read anything in the paper or elsewhere pointing out that the rooting out of sexist behavior also requires the condemnation of those who perpetuate the objectification of women by flaunting their sexuality and conditioning millions of young women to believe that their physical attributes matter more than their intellect. As long as Kim Kardasian and her ilk are role models, you're never going to get frat boys to stop talking about behinds.
9
I was pleased to see at least passing mention of Pense, who has been somewhat overlooked. How he synthesizes his oft-repeated Christian-morality stance with agreeing to run on the same ticket with Trump is more than simply unclear -- it's must be a profound intellectual/moral challenge, to say the least. Pense's apologetics appear profoundly hypocritical. Perhaps he, along with other Republicans, will do a Cruz and find his conscience to be entirely flexible.
After all, Trump --who Pense quite remarkably has called a "good man" -- surely strains any concept of redemption.
After all, Trump --who Pense quite remarkably has called a "good man" -- surely strains any concept of redemption.
10
There is a direct line between the language of Mr. Trump and the rape culture. There is a direct line between the deconstruction of women into body parts and the health care problems of women, including cervical cancer and maternal deaths. There is a direct line from American dog whistles about women to the forced female circumcision and systemic rape in the world. Make no mistake ... the education and empowerment of women have a powerful civilizing effect on the world, which is a threat to the power of men, power which is often masked as religious extremism. We now see as the religious right defends the rape culture that, to them, women are no more than a womb. This is part of a global war against women.
4
Trump now seems to be an object under psychological study rather than a candidate under political scrutiny. This is a very peculiar situation; because in a society where democracy is sort of stratified (or distant from ordinary people) if someone is exposed like Trump (or even Clinton) he/she would have been disqualified long before. If Trump was elected I would be naturally disappointed in seeing what American people could achieve since Independence but I could also understand what effects seeing Clinton in political scene for too long could bring on people.
There is a direct line between the language of Mr. Trump and the rape culture. There is a direct line between the deconstruction of women into body parts and the health care problems of women, including cervical cancer and maternal deaths. There is a direct line from American dog whistles about women to the forced female circumcision and systemic rape in the world. Make no mistake ... the education and empowerment of women have a powerful civilizing effect on the world, which is a threat to the power of men, power which is often masked as religious extremism. We now see, as the religious right defends the rape culture, that women are no more than a womb to them. This is part of a global war against women.
17
Interesting that voters are not aware that Trump is the first politician ever to disregard the Washington Address. Part of the success and independence of the US has always been the unwillingness to let foreign powers to meddle into American affairs. Americans solve their own problems. This is the first time that a candidate openly endorses a dictator (Putin) and openly uses, and commends, meddling with American internal conflicts. Putin, using traitors, is blatantly using the Roman method of dividing and conquer to diminish American standing in the World. It is a personal flaw and a sign of national decadence to submit to this strategy. But it is happening, sadly. A cornerstone of the American Ethos is being removed, for the first time since Washington. It must publicly condemned as treason.
11
I'm concerned about undecided voters who seem to have decided they will never vote for HRC.
This is where this election will be decided, and no poll will be able to quantify it until after the election.
We're skating on thin ice here. I can't and won't vote for her. The undecided part is a vote for Trump or a third party. Either way, it favors Trump.
And I believe there are a lot of people planning to vote for Trump who would never admit it to a pollster.
A Trump victory in November is not as unlikely as current polls suggest.
Anyway you look at it, you lose. Thanks Paul Simon.
This is where this election will be decided, and no poll will be able to quantify it until after the election.
We're skating on thin ice here. I can't and won't vote for her. The undecided part is a vote for Trump or a third party. Either way, it favors Trump.
And I believe there are a lot of people planning to vote for Trump who would never admit it to a pollster.
A Trump victory in November is not as unlikely as current polls suggest.
Anyway you look at it, you lose. Thanks Paul Simon.
2
Men have sexual thoughts (President Carter famously admitted as much). Men are not unaware of their sexual attraction to women; that is human and healthy. But real men do not act on impulse to say or do whatever they desire; they do not disrespect women by ogling, commenting, touching or otherwise acting with unwelcome behavior. This is not a case of political correctness, it is a case of being human or behaving like a farm animal.
Men who talk like Trump and act like Trump are not real men; they are overgrown boys stuck in a permanent state of puberty. Trump's behavior might exist in a 7th grade boy's locker room, but normal men develop past puberty. Trump and his ilk are not just immature or uncivilized, they are emotionally and mentally malformed. What normal man judges women only by appearance? What normal man sees women only as sexual opportunities? What normal man feels sexual attraction, lust for his own daughter?
The fact is Trump is emotionally and mentally sick. He treats women as objects to satisfy his out-of-control pubescent desires. This is the behavior of sexual predators and rapists.
I wonder, would Mike Pence leave one of his daughters alone in a room with Trump? Would any normal man or woman leave their daughter alone with Trump? Would Ivanka Trump leave her daughter alone with her father?
Trumps behavior is not only that of a pig, it is also illegal.
Men who talk like Trump and act like Trump are not real men; they are overgrown boys stuck in a permanent state of puberty. Trump's behavior might exist in a 7th grade boy's locker room, but normal men develop past puberty. Trump and his ilk are not just immature or uncivilized, they are emotionally and mentally malformed. What normal man judges women only by appearance? What normal man sees women only as sexual opportunities? What normal man feels sexual attraction, lust for his own daughter?
The fact is Trump is emotionally and mentally sick. He treats women as objects to satisfy his out-of-control pubescent desires. This is the behavior of sexual predators and rapists.
I wonder, would Mike Pence leave one of his daughters alone in a room with Trump? Would any normal man or woman leave their daughter alone with Trump? Would Ivanka Trump leave her daughter alone with her father?
Trumps behavior is not only that of a pig, it is also illegal.
26
Trump recently said losing will be "“the greatest waste of time, money and energy” He sees people as objects to be manipulated for augmentation of his own personal wealth. To Hillary, November 9 2016 will mark the start date for electing a smart responsible person who's dedicated her life to public service in spite of the maelstrom of splenetic rhetoric mostly from right wing extremists.
11
there are several reasons I left the GOP, the stupid movement to transfer public lands to the states so the states can sell them to the highest bidder, the realization that the GOP has lost its mind in how it spends, or tries not to spend, our tax dollars, but Trump was the straw that broke the back. This was just when he was sounding like a mid-1930's Austrian demagogue regarding mid-eastern/mexicans. I can understand why people don't like Clinton. She is a dishonest,self center power hungry politician with delusions of competence, but she's still better, and at least politically far more experienced, than Trump.
6
The claim by Trump that his Access Hollywood tape comments were just talk is extremely dubious on its face. I've been in locker rooms: Men may make all kinds of lewd comments, but I've never heard anyone--and can't imagine anyone--claiming to force themselves on women. And I can't imagine anyone lying about that. It's patently creepy conduct, and only a creep would actually admit to it.
These new allegations about Trump are credible for the simple reason that they reflect conduct that he actually admitted to in his conversation with Billy Bush. His reluctance to flat-out deny that he acted this way when confronted by Anderson Cooper in the debate is also suggestive.
These new allegations about Trump are credible for the simple reason that they reflect conduct that he actually admitted to in his conversation with Billy Bush. His reluctance to flat-out deny that he acted this way when confronted by Anderson Cooper in the debate is also suggestive.
18
Donald Trump is right about the notion that you can mislead 35% of the American people any time. That is the cost benefit of living in a divided limited powered democratic republic. And with the exception of a very bloody civil war the process has worked pretty peaceful with minimal enduring damage to our people and their institutions.
The Founding Fathers in their prescient wisdom and insight into human nature intended governing gridlock in the absence of good faith negotiations and compromise. They also anticipated demagogues seeking high office.
From the Age of Jefferson to the Age of Jackson to the Age of Lincoln to the Ages of Roosevelt to the Age of Reagan to the Age of Obama big leaders have been limited by their mortality and morality plus the Constitution of the United States of America. The President of the United States takes an oath of office "to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States". Our way of life trumps our lives our flag our national anthem and our buildings.
The Founding Fathers in their prescient wisdom and insight into human nature intended governing gridlock in the absence of good faith negotiations and compromise. They also anticipated demagogues seeking high office.
From the Age of Jefferson to the Age of Jackson to the Age of Lincoln to the Ages of Roosevelt to the Age of Reagan to the Age of Obama big leaders have been limited by their mortality and morality plus the Constitution of the United States of America. The President of the United States takes an oath of office "to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States". Our way of life trumps our lives our flag our national anthem and our buildings.
8
Interestingly, 35% is about the same number who will never, ever enter a library.
Thank you for this editorial. I hope that younger women and men who are voting in a Presidential Election for the first time realize how diligently women and men in this country have worked and fought for the ERA, Violence Against Women Act and services provided by Obamacare and Planned Parenthood. We must all stay vigilant. Misogyny & Racism are rearing their ugly heads but they are gasping for breath. Many people from all areas of the country are no longer afraid to stand up and speak about their contempt for these ideologies. Donald Trump as made blatantly clear in his actions and words that our opponents will not go down gracefully. But, they are going down. We must all remain calm. strong and vigilant. We will defeat Trump and his masters and our country will be stronger and healthier in the long run.
10
I am afraid that one of the bad consequences of Trump candidacy will be a growing puritanism of public discourse, equation of sex and violence, and repression masquerading as protection of women. Let's not forget that sexual assault is about domination and aggression, not about sex. A smart comment I read yesterday pointed out that Trump could have had as many women as he wanted simply by courting them - but he chose the route of crude physical assault because it gave him a sense of power. I am not a fan of dirty language in most situations but equating an off-color remark with rape is a wild exaggeration; nor is it true that such words necessarily lead to actions. "Objectification" happens in all human relations, including economic ones. No, what should be of utmost importance to us, women, are the laws protecting our economic independence, access to contraception and abortion, and societal acknowledgment that we are free agents capable of making our own choices, in bedroom or out of it. Let us not be distracted into a campaign of prudish censorship instead.
7
That is the vital takeaway, that Trump needs to blow himself up supersize, to control everyone and everything around him. That's why he assaults, to make his victims cower, as the other 16 candidates did. That's why he cheats, to teach other (smaller, of course) businesses that he is top dog and can smash them at will. Even his wives speak of his god-complex, that he is all-powerful. Sex is just the metaphor for quashing female independence, to show them who's boss. It happens in primates and canines.
"...nor is it true that such words necessarily lead to actions."
Agreed, but in the case of Donald Trump, apparently they have lead to unsavory actions.
Agreed, but in the case of Donald Trump, apparently they have lead to unsavory actions.
This is a rambling column with some points, but not much focus. The interesting quote from a fraternity site could have been supplemented by how many men referred to sexually assaulting women or grabbing their p...
The point is that I have never encountered men in the locker room or elsewhere who took such actions. If I had, I would have turned them into the police as it is criminal. Both men and women objectify the opposite sex, but actions matter.
The point is that I have never encountered men in the locker room or elsewhere who took such actions. If I had, I would have turned them into the police as it is criminal. Both men and women objectify the opposite sex, but actions matter.
6
Absolutely! Actions DO matter, especially when you're running for the Presidency of the United States- supposedly for the betterment of ALL people- men, women and children. 'Locker room banter' is just that, but when Donald states in that 'banter' "I just do it" indicates his own self-confession of doing so...
It seems that the RNC, as it stands with its chosen ticket, is willing and content to further distance itself as the "party of family values" not only in supporting past and future actions but also in overlooking these conspicuous words revealed to all, including our children. That is the GOP reality show.
18
As a woman who has been raped, I've been through a significant phase of flashbacks and depression during this campaign. I'm sure I'm not the only one. Trump's attitude and behavior toward women is below appalling. If his other injustices aren't enough, his misogyny should be the deal-breaker for any undecided woman voter.
177
"Sexist epithets are no more acceptable than racist comments."
Every time I hear Trump and his supporters repeat, "It was only locker room talk," I think, had it been bald racism, would it matter where or with who he had said it?
Every time I hear Trump and his supporters repeat, "It was only locker room talk," I think, had it been bald racism, would it matter where or with who he had said it?
14
Language is a divine and physical force. As revelation is the spirit of living, language is a tool of creation. It is as powerful and stunning as a blow, while being capable of fear and love, threat and promise, and lies and truth. Speech is an act: every animal and even the wind howls in danger and anger; living things know peace in silence.
Every act is speech: we tell of its effects, warn of its dangers, share its attractions, mark its legacy. The act is once. Its extension, its living witness is inner our inner voice. We share that inner voice and its inner truth to form outward signs, and these become the values that govern acts, that praise them or condemn them--that guide us to accept or rejection the repetition of certain acts.
In the end, speech has power over the act. (In varying degrees) Society is guided by the sinner or the saint. Trump's excuses and blame, his bitter denials, and cornered anger, his screams of victim blaming can create wider, lasting harm beyond the psychic hurts we should help heal with our acts and words.
Every act is speech: we tell of its effects, warn of its dangers, share its attractions, mark its legacy. The act is once. Its extension, its living witness is inner our inner voice. We share that inner voice and its inner truth to form outward signs, and these become the values that govern acts, that praise them or condemn them--that guide us to accept or rejection the repetition of certain acts.
In the end, speech has power over the act. (In varying degrees) Society is guided by the sinner or the saint. Trump's excuses and blame, his bitter denials, and cornered anger, his screams of victim blaming can create wider, lasting harm beyond the psychic hurts we should help heal with our acts and words.
26
It just amazes me how the language of this campaign has sunk to the level of an eight year old, Nick. To be politically correct, not *all* eight year olds are as bad as Donald Trump, but they do explore outre language to see what they can get away with. Generally, when one makes it through adolescence, he or she recognizes the that there is a bigger world out there in which he or she must function reasonably decorously. Trump hasn't gotten there.
But he has dragged everyone else down there with him. My father would say of handling such a character, "Just walk away." But Trump was nominated as a presidential candidate by millions of votes. We *can't* just walk away.
There always were types of people in this nation who would support a candidate like Trump, but they never controlled a political party, so we did effectively just walk away from them. But today, they have assumed control of a terribly broken Republican Party. The party's disunity after the Bush administration, and, after its terrible difficulty in finding a House Speaker, left it vulnerable to being hijacked.
Right Wing media, that made a lucrative market out of these people, further fueled the anger. In that context they nominated a man who represents their lowest of irrationally fear-driven behavior. Donald Trump is that eight year old who ponders what it's like to grope women, use provocative sexist language, and get away with it.
It's not just defeating Trump. We need to repair our culture.
But he has dragged everyone else down there with him. My father would say of handling such a character, "Just walk away." But Trump was nominated as a presidential candidate by millions of votes. We *can't* just walk away.
There always were types of people in this nation who would support a candidate like Trump, but they never controlled a political party, so we did effectively just walk away from them. But today, they have assumed control of a terribly broken Republican Party. The party's disunity after the Bush administration, and, after its terrible difficulty in finding a House Speaker, left it vulnerable to being hijacked.
Right Wing media, that made a lucrative market out of these people, further fueled the anger. In that context they nominated a man who represents their lowest of irrationally fear-driven behavior. Donald Trump is that eight year old who ponders what it's like to grope women, use provocative sexist language, and get away with it.
It's not just defeating Trump. We need to repair our culture.
23
To far too may of his supporters his one redeeming (!) quality is that he is not Hillary Clinton and that is why they will vote for him, however evil he has been or will be. That is the problem, and no amount of revelations from his past will change it.
138
There is no more reliable indicator of guilt than reflexive deflection when the raw nerve is struck.
People who believe anything else has to be better than this will kill this planet.
People who believe anything else has to be better than this will kill this planet.
Could not the same be said of Clinton supporters?
Let's just hope that whoever wins it's a single term deal.
Let's just hope that whoever wins it's a single term deal.
Nonetheless, we should encourage victims to speak up against the abuser.
Donald Trump is a racist sexist bully. His followers try to equate this behavior with being the wife of someone (President Clinton) who had extramarital affairs. Anyone with any brains at all can see the apples and oranges comparison. They can't because of either stupidity or their own racist sexist self interests. I pity them all. They deserve forgiveness from all of their evangelical friends.
34
He's not only a racist, sexist bully, he's also a criminal in the wild who was never held accountable for his crimes: fraud, sex crimes, serial groping, etc. Only now that he's running for the most powerful office in the world is his depraved behavior coming back to bite him in the posterior.
If he didn't have a rich dad, he'd be in and out of the penal system.
If he didn't have a rich dad, he'd be in and out of the penal system.
I wonder if Trump's mother had an equal voice in family matters, was treated as a human being worthy of respect by her husband and sons or pursued a personally fulfilling cause or passion outside the home? I would guess not if the Trump view of women as manure prevailed.
10
Read the Atlantic article about Trump which talks about the dictatorial father. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. And look up the ancestry and association of the father with Hitler--it's in the article also--photos exist of the father drinking with Hitler.
1
It is true that Americans have overlooked serious warts in some popular presidents: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/commentary/chi-our-greatest-p... . Yet all of them had something to qualify them for the office, some background that justified their elevation to the office of the presidency. Trump has nothing. He has predation, menadicty, narcissism gone wild, malevolence, ignorance and a lack of desire to learn.
Mr. Kristoff is correct. Trump can be right about something that should be among several qualities disqualifying him from office. We can all hope that ever greater swaths of fellow citizens continue to come to their senses as election day approaches.
Mr. Kristoff is correct. Trump can be right about something that should be among several qualities disqualifying him from office. We can all hope that ever greater swaths of fellow citizens continue to come to their senses as election day approaches.
13
There was Pence at Liberty University, trying to make the case that Trump believes in "the sanctity of life," "the Second Amendment," and so should be the one making Supreme Court appointments.
Just words. Morality is more than any religion or any political agenda, and is the last attribute that could ever be applied to Trump.
Just words. Morality is more than any religion or any political agenda, and is the last attribute that could ever be applied to Trump.
18
Nick,
I have followed you for years, and the fact that you put your empathetic money where your mouth is on a daily basis as undeniably one of the worlds foremost humanitarians, is beyond admirable.
However, I take serious issue with today's editorial. Syntax and semantics are not the same. Donald Trump spoke words that in the simplest of terms were a confession to uninvited and undoubtably unwanted touching, groping and kissing. Let us all please remember words exist to communicate meaning. He meant: I am entitled to take a woman at will. That is what he said. Gratefully, the current climate,( to the best of my knowledge tracing back to the Anita Hill hearings), is allowing for an evolution of discourse that will hopefully punish such predatory acts to the fullest extent of the law. Quite frankly, the only thing he has done "right" is spotlighting this systemic and narcissistic 'macho' behavior.
Let us also, please examine the minority card placed here. Had this been a black male's comments, he would have been charged with his confession to his crime(s).
I have followed you for years, and the fact that you put your empathetic money where your mouth is on a daily basis as undeniably one of the worlds foremost humanitarians, is beyond admirable.
However, I take serious issue with today's editorial. Syntax and semantics are not the same. Donald Trump spoke words that in the simplest of terms were a confession to uninvited and undoubtably unwanted touching, groping and kissing. Let us all please remember words exist to communicate meaning. He meant: I am entitled to take a woman at will. That is what he said. Gratefully, the current climate,( to the best of my knowledge tracing back to the Anita Hill hearings), is allowing for an evolution of discourse that will hopefully punish such predatory acts to the fullest extent of the law. Quite frankly, the only thing he has done "right" is spotlighting this systemic and narcissistic 'macho' behavior.
Let us also, please examine the minority card placed here. Had this been a black male's comments, he would have been charged with his confession to his crime(s).
27
When a person touches Donald's nerve, the latter may swerve with renewed verve in an indignant direction. Whether he misbehaved, or has been misbehaving or not, his epic ego will erupt like a volcano. Trump may have a lot of explaining to do, but he won't. Humorously enough, Trump's misdeeds are left for Pence to elucidate in a biblical way, to justify his errant shenanigans, and to mop them away, diligently.
Another anathema (to some), Hillary, has her lieutenants scrambling for answers, when new questions on what she had said, or not said about her alleged collusion with the Wall Street barons. Her sympathizers may even fly off the handle, on hearing or learning any unsavory comments about her, but the dictum ''truth alone triumphs'', has to be upheld and buttressed, come what may. It may not even seem always achievable in these days of baroque business deals and poisoned political milieus, but someone has to strive.
Lamentably, the third debate may be neither a cliff-hanger nor a nail-biter, since the sparring may seem and sound quite a bit inane and even vapid. The audience numbers may further nosedive, in all likelihood. Nevertheless, voters from early voting states, please exercise your invaluable vote to whomsoever you think will be a decent person. One should have supreme confidence in the astuteness of the American voters. They almost always do what is expedient. God love y'all. Let's not despair.
Another anathema (to some), Hillary, has her lieutenants scrambling for answers, when new questions on what she had said, or not said about her alleged collusion with the Wall Street barons. Her sympathizers may even fly off the handle, on hearing or learning any unsavory comments about her, but the dictum ''truth alone triumphs'', has to be upheld and buttressed, come what may. It may not even seem always achievable in these days of baroque business deals and poisoned political milieus, but someone has to strive.
Lamentably, the third debate may be neither a cliff-hanger nor a nail-biter, since the sparring may seem and sound quite a bit inane and even vapid. The audience numbers may further nosedive, in all likelihood. Nevertheless, voters from early voting states, please exercise your invaluable vote to whomsoever you think will be a decent person. One should have supreme confidence in the astuteness of the American voters. They almost always do what is expedient. God love y'all. Let's not despair.
1
Abortion.
The single, all important reason that evangelicals will debase themselves in association with this putrid excuse for a man. Forget everything else, and the list is long, this issue and the Supreme Court nominee that has the power to keep it a woman's decision is their focus. Jerry Falwell Jr said yesterday that he will stand with Trump because of this issue.
The pro-life, pro-lie republican party needs a clear signal from women, and men, that their freedom to hold this position is respected but will never again be the law of the land. The best way to do that is to firmly and overwhelming defeat them at the ballot box in November.
The single, all important reason that evangelicals will debase themselves in association with this putrid excuse for a man. Forget everything else, and the list is long, this issue and the Supreme Court nominee that has the power to keep it a woman's decision is their focus. Jerry Falwell Jr said yesterday that he will stand with Trump because of this issue.
The pro-life, pro-lie republican party needs a clear signal from women, and men, that their freedom to hold this position is respected but will never again be the law of the land. The best way to do that is to firmly and overwhelming defeat them at the ballot box in November.
49
I'm not a fan of Trump's, but even worse are Hillary's words to Goldman Sachs in the paid speeches she refuses to release. A simple google search will show anyone interested in learning more that Hillary basically assures the financial industry that she empathizes with them and their interests, is one with them. Frankly I think this duplicity is even more dangerous and presages 4 or 8 more years of the same: indenturing the middle class to reroute wealth to the fat cats.
9
It would be utterly stupid of any politician, in a speech to Wall Street, Main Street, or any other audience, or in enacting fiscal or monetary policy not to understand the role that Wall Street plays in the health of the overall American economy, i.e. Main Street. Nothing in the released speech excerpts indicates that she values Wall Street over Main Street, and indeed, she seems to have felt the need to remind Wall Street that they could not succeed without Main Street. If you think that makes her worse that Trump, you value ideological purity over pragmatism and your pocketbook.
3
That's an even better argument for voting for a Democratic Congress.
Equally appalling is Hilary's statement that she holds private and public opinions on things. Would that mean she lies to us and tells us what we want to hear and then doing what she really believes?
It's rare to have a politician actually tell us he/she is a liar.
It's rare to have a politician actually tell us he/she is a liar.
"The pageant theme that year? Empowering women."
Trying to get a women fired because she was pregnant and probably because she snubbed his crude immature advances. Just more examples that trump is the world's biggest hypocrite, in addition to the world's biggest "lyin' 'cheatin' 'low energy' 'crooked' sleaze bag.
I too am delighted that one person is paying the price of going along with trump's words just to seem cool. Most people can see how pathetic it is that two grown men feel the need to "prove their masculinity" in this pathetic boorish & juvenile manner. And the two men is question makes it even more pathetic.
Ultimately actions are more important than words but it always starts with words. Words put the thoughts into the minds of susceptible and vulnerable young boys, teen males and even adult males. This is very dangerous. Online forums spread anonymous words more easily than ever. And some men have always felt that predatory actions are their right.
Under a trump administration the entire world will be getting the message that sexual assault just does not matter. Women's rights do not matter.
This includes Pence's horrendous voting record.
For now, actions do matter more than words. After trump loses the race for the Presidency, all he will have is his words. He will still be very dangerous.
Trying to get a women fired because she was pregnant and probably because she snubbed his crude immature advances. Just more examples that trump is the world's biggest hypocrite, in addition to the world's biggest "lyin' 'cheatin' 'low energy' 'crooked' sleaze bag.
I too am delighted that one person is paying the price of going along with trump's words just to seem cool. Most people can see how pathetic it is that two grown men feel the need to "prove their masculinity" in this pathetic boorish & juvenile manner. And the two men is question makes it even more pathetic.
Ultimately actions are more important than words but it always starts with words. Words put the thoughts into the minds of susceptible and vulnerable young boys, teen males and even adult males. This is very dangerous. Online forums spread anonymous words more easily than ever. And some men have always felt that predatory actions are their right.
Under a trump administration the entire world will be getting the message that sexual assault just does not matter. Women's rights do not matter.
This includes Pence's horrendous voting record.
For now, actions do matter more than words. After trump loses the race for the Presidency, all he will have is his words. He will still be very dangerous.
17
How does a beauty pageant "empower" women? Seriously?
I've heard that some Trump supporters want to repeal the 19th amendment because polls indicate that if things were left up to men, Trump would be sure to win. Women will see to it in this election that it does not happen. We have been tacitly treated as second class citizens for decades. The Trump Train has no problem being in your face about it. I plan to take my small hand and wrap it around a pencil and vote no to any Republican for any office, including dog catcher.
42
What Trump is right about (I am a Hillary supporter BTW) are at least three assertions: we don't protect our borders; both parties have ignored the effects of international trade on the middle class; and, corruption in politics. Conservatives want these issues addressed. IMO, they believe it is worth the trade-off to vote for him with all his baggage vs. someone who has been part of the Beltway for decades.
10
Conservatives actually do NOT want all these issues addressed!
International trade deals? Free market by conservative standards
Corruption in politics? I see no conservatives or Republicans addressing this- to the contrary "money is speech" and conservatives actually were upset when Obama and Dems addressed Citizens United. Here in Michigan the Republican party actually enshrined dark money use into law!
Borders protected? Baloney- the right talks about "secure" borders but never actually tells you by what metric the border will be considered secure. It's all political theater
International trade deals? Free market by conservative standards
Corruption in politics? I see no conservatives or Republicans addressing this- to the contrary "money is speech" and conservatives actually were upset when Obama and Dems addressed Citizens United. Here in Michigan the Republican party actually enshrined dark money use into law!
Borders protected? Baloney- the right talks about "secure" borders but never actually tells you by what metric the border will be considered secure. It's all political theater
1
I agree with you. If this election weren't so bat-sh*t crazy, these would be good topics to explore.
It appears Billy Bush is being fired. He has blown his opportunity to work in big time media and we will no doubt see him working for a bottom feeding news/gossip website. Brian Williams lost his top perch for embellishing stories.
But not only is Trump allowed to continue to run for president, we will likely see organizations fawn over him in the future when he should be shunned for his past documented comments and actions.
Meanwhile the right wing won't let go of any of their supposed issues with Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Clearly something is wrong with this picture.
But not only is Trump allowed to continue to run for president, we will likely see organizations fawn over him in the future when he should be shunned for his past documented comments and actions.
Meanwhile the right wing won't let go of any of their supposed issues with Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Clearly something is wrong with this picture.
30
Its beyond wrong, it is bordering on insane. They cannot even see what they are doing to our democracy.
Brian Williams?....oh yeah I remember him!
...and Connie Chung...
...and Dan Rather...oh wait, he works for a cable channel that noone gets, right?
None of these idiots had their finger on the nuclear button. It's a matter of degree. Everyone knows that these firings are entertainment, schadenfreude, but other than humiliating him at the polls there's nothing you can do to Trump to make him go away. Unfortunately.
...and Connie Chung...
...and Dan Rather...oh wait, he works for a cable channel that noone gets, right?
None of these idiots had their finger on the nuclear button. It's a matter of degree. Everyone knows that these firings are entertainment, schadenfreude, but other than humiliating him at the polls there's nothing you can do to Trump to make him go away. Unfortunately.
1
Facts play no role in Trump-world or in the craven "He's Come to Jesus" of the right wing bible blabbers. How else could either believe what it believes? Ask a Trump supporter why he supports the candidate and he will say, "Benghazi." Ask what about it, what he knows, what the facts are, he will say, "She lied."
Trump will not win. What then do we do with non-thinking mass of angry irrational people who didn't get their way? Let's hope they are as dumb as I think and won't be able to form an organized revolt.....
Trump will not win. What then do we do with non-thinking mass of angry irrational people who didn't get their way? Let's hope they are as dumb as I think and won't be able to form an organized revolt.....
1
While we are establishing and reestabloshing Donald Trump's unfitness for the presidency of the United States, we seem to be having an increasingly unfit presidential campaign.
Recommended: There are real, survival issues. Hillary Clinton and Al Gore in Florida talking about climate change and the jobs already created and to be had in clean energy. The speeches are available on utube and are worth 46:17 of every voter's time. Even the diehard Trump voters' time. Many do not know, because of stupid or prejudiced media coverage that the second half of "deplorables" was about Trump followers who need jobs and, with her administration, must have them.
May we try for some sane discussion of the real issues - climate change (the issue which the US must lead the world confronting), rebuilding infrastructure, reforming the tax code, the education system and the prison system - before the divisions become chasms.
It is time we got our heads out of our cell phones and became citizens not only of our country, but also of the planet. It will be a major education initiative.
Recommended: There are real, survival issues. Hillary Clinton and Al Gore in Florida talking about climate change and the jobs already created and to be had in clean energy. The speeches are available on utube and are worth 46:17 of every voter's time. Even the diehard Trump voters' time. Many do not know, because of stupid or prejudiced media coverage that the second half of "deplorables" was about Trump followers who need jobs and, with her administration, must have them.
May we try for some sane discussion of the real issues - climate change (the issue which the US must lead the world confronting), rebuilding infrastructure, reforming the tax code, the education system and the prison system - before the divisions become chasms.
It is time we got our heads out of our cell phones and became citizens not only of our country, but also of the planet. It will be a major education initiative.
30
550k is roughly 0.15% of the US population. While it is sad and heartbreaking that domestic violence exists, I find it hard to believe this number can be brought to zero. Also, it sounds unfair to generalize things as if there was a war on a gender or race. Understanding the problem is the first step to find solutions. People pushing agendas will have a hard time finding solutions.
Then consider the number of women who do not seek medical attention because they fear their abusers or feel that they are dependent on them for survival. I suspect the numbers would go up significantly. That also does not count mental or psychological abuse, which can destroy a person just as surely as a gun shot.
4
"550k is roughly 0.15% of the US population."
Your percentage indicates you are speaking of the entire 300 million+ people in the U.S., but we are talking about 550k abused WOMEN, not just people in general. According to the 2012 census, there are roughly 157.65M women in the country. That means that of ALL women, regardless of age, about 0.34% will need medical attention for domestic violence. That more than doubles your percentage right at the outset. Bear in mind, 550K woman figure only reflects those women who received TREATMENT. It is not possible to know exactly how many "lesser" injuries were hidden. I think we can agree that it is plausible that many women are too terrified or shamed into concealing things like black eyes, bruises, non-lethal cuts and any number of other forms of abuse. Let's be very, very optimistic and say that there are only another 50K women who were abused, but did not require medical attention (an insultingly low figure, but still). Now the percentage climbs to 0.38%. But wait, this number is just abuse from boyfriends or husbands. Let's assume (so we can sleep at night) girls under 10 and women over 75 are not being significantly abused by boyfriends/husbands. That brings the female population down to roughly 127.05M of which 0.47% will be abused by husbands or boyfriends alone! That's now 3x the percentage you figured. There's no more space, but consider adding parental abuse or "other" abusers to the equation.
Your percentage indicates you are speaking of the entire 300 million+ people in the U.S., but we are talking about 550k abused WOMEN, not just people in general. According to the 2012 census, there are roughly 157.65M women in the country. That means that of ALL women, regardless of age, about 0.34% will need medical attention for domestic violence. That more than doubles your percentage right at the outset. Bear in mind, 550K woman figure only reflects those women who received TREATMENT. It is not possible to know exactly how many "lesser" injuries were hidden. I think we can agree that it is plausible that many women are too terrified or shamed into concealing things like black eyes, bruises, non-lethal cuts and any number of other forms of abuse. Let's be very, very optimistic and say that there are only another 50K women who were abused, but did not require medical attention (an insultingly low figure, but still). Now the percentage climbs to 0.38%. But wait, this number is just abuse from boyfriends or husbands. Let's assume (so we can sleep at night) girls under 10 and women over 75 are not being significantly abused by boyfriends/husbands. That brings the female population down to roughly 127.05M of which 0.47% will be abused by husbands or boyfriends alone! That's now 3x the percentage you figured. There's no more space, but consider adding parental abuse or "other" abusers to the equation.
3
First of all, 550K is the number reported. Most do not get reported. But let's not stop there.
One-third of the American population is too young, yet you included in your "statistics". Half of the American population are men, and violence against women don't apply. A significant percentage of the women population is not married or have boyfriends, so the 550K doesn't apply. Before you know this number is getting closer to 1%, perhaps 2% or even 3% or 5%.
Now that you know the real statistics, let me ask you, do you know 20-100 married women or women with boyfriends? Chances are that at least one of them, or likely more have been subject to domestic violence. The fact you don't know does t mean it doesn't exist, and for that I go back to my first sentence... most domestic violence do not get reported.
One-third of the American population is too young, yet you included in your "statistics". Half of the American population are men, and violence against women don't apply. A significant percentage of the women population is not married or have boyfriends, so the 550K doesn't apply. Before you know this number is getting closer to 1%, perhaps 2% or even 3% or 5%.
Now that you know the real statistics, let me ask you, do you know 20-100 married women or women with boyfriends? Chances are that at least one of them, or likely more have been subject to domestic violence. The fact you don't know does t mean it doesn't exist, and for that I go back to my first sentence... most domestic violence do not get reported.
1
Those men who reject sexist language and behavior because it demeans female loved ones and friends view this issue much too narrowly. If women were the only victims of such boorish attitudes, and the violence that often accompanies them, the harm inflicted would deserve the severest response possible. In fact, however, the entire society suffers when some of its members face discrimination and abuse.
Dr. Martin Luther King expressed this truth with his usual eloquence (although I am paraphrasing him) when he declared that the denial of justice to some creates injustice for all. If men wink at the dehumanization of women, they endorse a culture that will encourage others to scorn their own superficial imperfections. Males who judge females by the standards of a beauty contest needn't expect to be evaluated by society on the basis of their own character or intellect. And men who display indifference toward the prevalence of sexual assault may find that the violence they have condoned will eventually engulf them as well.
The principle of equal treatment of all people does not express simply some ethereal ideal. The "golden rule" possesses such broad appeal because it helps to protect the dignity and safety of each of us. In the final analysis, moreover, we cannot respect ourselves if we treat others with contempt. Anyone who doubts the truth of this adage needs merely to observe the behavior of Donald Trump.
Dr. Martin Luther King expressed this truth with his usual eloquence (although I am paraphrasing him) when he declared that the denial of justice to some creates injustice for all. If men wink at the dehumanization of women, they endorse a culture that will encourage others to scorn their own superficial imperfections. Males who judge females by the standards of a beauty contest needn't expect to be evaluated by society on the basis of their own character or intellect. And men who display indifference toward the prevalence of sexual assault may find that the violence they have condoned will eventually engulf them as well.
The principle of equal treatment of all people does not express simply some ethereal ideal. The "golden rule" possesses such broad appeal because it helps to protect the dignity and safety of each of us. In the final analysis, moreover, we cannot respect ourselves if we treat others with contempt. Anyone who doubts the truth of this adage needs merely to observe the behavior of Donald Trump.
142
More than likely Trump's sexual predations are an extension of his sociopathy.
He has little or no capacity to see other humans as anything more than objects put on this earth to service his needs. His ardent supporters would be thrown under the bus by a President Trump, if it served his purpose. They, like women, are nothing more than widgets.
Trump is a sexual predator. But as despicable are the men like Billy Bush who applaud, support and goad Trump. This behavior might be acceptable among lower order primates. But among humans?
He has little or no capacity to see other humans as anything more than objects put on this earth to service his needs. His ardent supporters would be thrown under the bus by a President Trump, if it served his purpose. They, like women, are nothing more than widgets.
Trump is a sexual predator. But as despicable are the men like Billy Bush who applaud, support and goad Trump. This behavior might be acceptable among lower order primates. But among humans?
25
I don't think this behavior is acceptable among lower order primates. Please give them more credit!
" One study of 16,000 comments on a website for fraternity men found"
Frat boys should be rejected yet they are placed on pedestals. Hmm. Is there a coincidence?
Frat boys should be rejected yet they are placed on pedestals. Hmm. Is there a coincidence?
11
Frat boys tend to be wealthy. Americans apparently worship wealthy people.
Trump is the poster child for white male privilege. A selfish, sexist. A racist, a boor. He is a deplorable man and the GOP clings to him. Basket of Deplorables was totally accurate.
202
But "basket of deplorables" referred to only half of Trump supporters. The press really blew this one by quoting only half of what Secretary Clinton said. She added that the other half of Donald Trump's supporters (here I must paraphrase because I do not remember the exact wording ) need jobs and reconstruction of their lives and that she wants to provide the means for them to have both.
2
That's very unfair. He's a poster child for narcissism or fascism. White males don't have a monopoly on boorish, criminal behavior, as Bill Cosby has so clearly demonstrated.
I am a white male who was fortunate enough to make a good living by my own efforts. No silver spear spoon here. I resent being called a poster child.
I admonished and, in several instances, fired men for misconduct. Sloppy work, blaming others (often a female secretary), foul language, repeated drug or alcohol abuse, absenteeism, filing false reports.... Often these characters also directed foul language and behaviours toward our female employees. Should this be a revelation?
I or someone else in the company made the mistake of hiring someone who turned out to be a total jerk. Once discovered we "papered" the jerk. That is, giving him verbal and paper warnings to COA so we wouldn't be accused of wrongful discharge - very expensive.
So cut us a break. We're not all DT's. In fact, few of us are.
I admonished and, in several instances, fired men for misconduct. Sloppy work, blaming others (often a female secretary), foul language, repeated drug or alcohol abuse, absenteeism, filing false reports.... Often these characters also directed foul language and behaviours toward our female employees. Should this be a revelation?
I or someone else in the company made the mistake of hiring someone who turned out to be a total jerk. Once discovered we "papered" the jerk. That is, giving him verbal and paper warnings to COA so we wouldn't be accused of wrongful discharge - very expensive.
So cut us a break. We're not all DT's. In fact, few of us are.
Fascinating to see the language creep. Today I've read a NY Times article that has the words "ass", "tits" and "pussy". Wouldn't have expected that prior to a week ago, not in my wildest dreams. At leat he stopped short of _____ (manure).
As high profile politicians drag us through the mud, their legacy is a coarsening of language. I hope some national lab is working on developing some new swear words for us, because otherwise we'll be out of words not-to-be-used-in-polite-company even before the glaciers all disappear.
As high profile politicians drag us through the mud, their legacy is a coarsening of language. I hope some national lab is working on developing some new swear words for us, because otherwise we'll be out of words not-to-be-used-in-polite-company even before the glaciers all disappear.
36
This! We can use derogatory labels for female anatomy, but can't use a vulgarity to describe "manure." If that doesn't epitomize the problem, I don't know what does?!
2
My husband, who did not use any of the above words, said there was only one bad word - "developer." He was very emvironmentally conscious and would have appreciated your reference to the disappearance of glaciers before a new set of "private" words. Thank you.
Several of the prime time cable news hosts reiterated the apparent reality that Trump's base will never be dissuaded, as if that somehow should matter. Please, btw, with the "they're angry" excuse. The mob that beat Jews and burned them from their homes and businesses on krystalnacht were angry as well, so were the robed and hooded white citizens councils which dragged black children from their homes in the middle of the night. So don't ask me to empathize with some spittle flecked deplorable, there I said it, who given the oppurtunity would gladly take us back to Jim Crow, to rounding up Muslims and immigrant families, to foced conversion therapy for gays and prison time for women who had had an abortion and who think the remedy to a liberal president picking liberal Supreme Court Justices resides in the second amendment.
276
If I wrote your extreme comment it would not have been published by the NYT. Does anyone really care what kind of sex gays have behind closed doors? The only roundup of U.S. citizens occurred during WWII when FDR ordered the interment of all Japanese US citizens. FDR was a Democrat. I read a lot of newspapers everyday and I haven't seen any "Jews" being beaten in the streets during my entire lifetime, nor would anyone tolerate such an act if it occurred. And giving women the right to have a partial birth abortion even if the life to the mother is not threatened is the equivalent to murder. Apparently that is ok with you. In closing your distorted rant belongs buried alongside all the hate mongering you are trying to stir up.
1
You hit the nail on the head, THANK YOU!!!!
You're absolutely right. However, I want to pose one question to those who say that 'Trumps crowd' will never be dissuaded; No matter what comes out regarding Hillary's emails or the leaked information from the hacked emails, etc, etc, will the overwhelming majority of 'Hillary's crowd' be dissuaded? I don't believe so.
1
Oh, I'm reading the NYT. For a second there, I thought I was reading The National Enquirer.
In the interests of balance, why don't you report on the far more numerous allegations against Bill Clinton? What did Hilary know? Some suggest she knew a lot. Some suggest she threatened her husband'a accusers. She certainly mocked them - ask Monica. Well?
In the interests of balance, why don't you report on the far more numerous allegations against Bill Clinton? What did Hilary know? Some suggest she knew a lot. Some suggest she threatened her husband'a accusers. She certainly mocked them - ask Monica. Well?
15
Well, the National Enquirer, Fox News and other similar sterling examples of journalism have had 40 years to make up stuff about their favorite soap opera stars.
12
Clinton was impeached for his actions. Hillary was cheated on and lied to repeatedly, but felt she had to defend her husband publicly. The rest is pure speculation. Bill is not running for president. The false equivalence, tarred-with-the-same-brush arguments in this election have put the logical fallacy factor off the charts. Hillary, a good but not perfect person, stands for lifting up women and girls. Trump stands for controlling them.
43
Because it's not really pertinent
2
Donald Trump has preyed on women sexually for decades. Mike Pence and his Republican bible-thumping cohorts like Ted Cruz and his misogynist Evangelical supporters have been preying on a woman's right to control her reproductive life, at every legislative turn, which is arguably even more damaging - especially concerning the denial of healthcare services to poor women.
Trump may prefer his women young, nubile, and high on a scale of ten, while Pence may prefer to place his on some kind of unwelcome religious pedestal, but what is very clear is that they both seek to keep women figuratively or literally "barefoot and pregnant."
Trump may prefer his women young, nubile, and high on a scale of ten, while Pence may prefer to place his on some kind of unwelcome religious pedestal, but what is very clear is that they both seek to keep women figuratively or literally "barefoot and pregnant."
204
If only babies could talk, or scream, yeah the right to a partial birth abortion even if the mothers life is not threatened spells doom to anything civilized in our society. But what the hay, a woman has that right to kill?
Trump's bragging was immature.
However, when you watch the film, Trump greets the woman they were talking about respectfully and it is Billy Bush that goads the woman into giving Donald a kiss, which he is clearly embarrassed about.
All hat and no cattle.
However, when you watch the film, Trump greets the woman they were talking about respectfully and it is Billy Bush that goads the woman into giving Donald a kiss, which he is clearly embarrassed about.
All hat and no cattle.
13
Oh no, to me that is the most alarming part of the video. The veneer that he puts on after speaking in such vile terms was thoroughly chilling. This is someone who is practiced in hiding his more base character when he needs to. A true predator.
24
Yes he greets them respectfully... ON CAMERA.
This is a guy who knows exactly what he can get away with and what he can't, I'm guessing that's from having a LOT of practice exploring the boundaries.
This is a guy who knows exactly what he can get away with and what he can't, I'm guessing that's from having a LOT of practice exploring the boundaries.
2
he was describing sexual assault. his on camera acting doesn't negate that in any way
1
Hopefully Trump is unwittingly setting up a cleansing by exposing and invigorating some unwholesome parts of our country. We have to be periodically reminded of why we adopted certain principles and laws in the first place. As Clemenza said in The Godfather, referring to an oncoming gang war, these things have to happen every few years; cleans the bad blood.
31
To continue with your logic, it didn't happen with Bill Clinton even though unwholesomeness was exposed. His supporters re-elected him, so no cleansing occurred. The bad blood has become part of American society.
Agreed, HighPlainsScribe. Your comment reminds me of a line from "I, Claudius", in which Claudius explains the strategy behind letting his evil opponents have their way, "Let all the poisons that lurk in the mud hatch out."
1
Well, that's your opinion. But millions will vote for Trump regardless. We are well beyond whacking the Trump piñata by now. It is easy to see that he is unstable and unfit. It is urgent to understand why that perception isn't more widely shared.
158
I agree. Understanding the cult-like irrational fervor of Trump supporters, at a sociological level, should be a national priority. I'm not sure constitutional/democratic stability is possible if a plurality of the populace can be so easily manipulated and radicalized by nothing more than performance, personality, and incoherent mania.
12
People are hypnotized by his charisma as they were with Hitler. The bluster. the bravado. the absence of a moral center, his outrageous claims, the hand gestures, the sneers; these are subconscious triggers that awaken in his supporters their own misogyny and xenophobia. It makes their own crudeness acceptable and their own stupidity seem virtuous....
2
The people voting for him are in the 60-70 IQ range. And there are millions of them in America! Lenin called them "the useful idiots". They include basically the Jerry Springer crowd off of whom Springer made millions on his TV show!
2
Words ARE actions. The choice to say things one way as opposed to another is one of the most common ways for us to exercise agency. And as one's power and influence over others increases, holding inhibitory structures (like law) constant, the moral distinction between words and actions decreases to zero.
7
was he right about bill?
There is no doubt in my mind that sexist language normalizes harassment and rape. As a person who has experienced harassment by men since I was ten years old, I can tell you that language matters more than Donald Trump could ever imagine. The things that disturbed, confused, privileged, abusive men like Trump will say to a woman, let alone a young girl, would make most people sick. For my part, it has meant that, since the age of ten, I've never felt truly safe when I am alone and in public. The sooner we all begin to hold men like him accountable for whatever they say, the safer we will all be. Logically, then, we must assume that electing one of them president will endanger us all.
23
As a dad of 6 girls, and as a man - Thank you, Alexis. I agree. Words count. That is why the book the evangelical rightwingers backing Trump says, "Out of the mouth the heart speaks" and "As a man thinks in his heart, so he is." Guess theyre ignoring that part when the cheer for their candidate.
Thanks again, A.
Thanks again, A.
1
Nobody who sexually abuses women should ever step foot into the White House to help make decisions that will shape the future of our country.
Yes, Bill shouldn't be there, especially because we know he'll be there pulling Hillary's strings and whispering advice in her ear, and neither should Trump for the same reasons.
Yes, Bill shouldn't be there, especially because we know he'll be there pulling Hillary's strings and whispering advice in her ear, and neither should Trump for the same reasons.
3
Give me a break and thanks for the ignorant sexist comment. Apparently you think Hillary Clinton does not have the intelligence to be president and must seek out her husband for advice. I suggest you read your comment again. You are totally lacking in self-awareness.
I don't for a minute that Bill will be "pulling Hillary's strings". This is a very strong woman, not some Little Lady who will bow to her husband's demands. I'm sure she'll listen to his advice on various matters because, like him or hate him, one must admit that he was a very intelligent politician. But I have no doubt that SHE will definitely be in charge.
1
Bill left this country with a surplus in the treasury which George Bush promptly sqandered on two wars. He has a sexual past little different from many other of our best leaders. To think his political advice is no longer useful is likely a disservice to the country.
From the NSW (Australia) parliament : The motion regarding Mr Trump was passed without dissent, after Upper House president Don Harwin looked into whether the term "revolting slug" amounted to unparliamentary language.
We don't do diplomacy.
We don't do diplomacy.
34
Perhaps I'll move to Australia instead of Canada if Trump is elected.
Trump and Pence, what a pair of throwbacks.
19
A well-spoken, thoughtful man who is a great father and husband is sitting in the White House right now. Oh, what will I pay to rescind the constitutional restriction on him having to leave office. Oh, but I forgot. He is a Kenyan Muslim socialist and not an American Christian capitalist.
29
Chickenlover, I agree with you 110%. We are going to miss him and his family. I feel so privileged to have lived to see such a good man in the oval office.
1
As the Clintons and their acolytes told us in the 90s, the presidency is not about "sex" (by which they also meant "sexual assault" and "rape").
Hillary may be boring, but if, heaven forbid, she wins, her march via Wall Street and diktat to the Apocalypse will be anything but.
The choice is between a harmless boor and an apocalyptic bore. Don't say you weren't warned.
Hillary may be boring, but if, heaven forbid, she wins, her march via Wall Street and diktat to the Apocalypse will be anything but.
The choice is between a harmless boor and an apocalyptic bore. Don't say you weren't warned.
4
Hillary Clinton is a public servant, brilliant, disciplined, and dedicated to the preservation of America through the welfare of its citizens. The tribute paid her by, of all people, Joe Scarborough, on MSNBC this morning, added to and enhanced by others on Morning Joe, should be published.
If for no other reason than her linking up with Al Gore to fight climate change, she is no "apocalyptic boor," unless you do not value your life, that of others, or the planet.
If for no other reason than her linking up with Al Gore to fight climate change, she is no "apocalyptic boor," unless you do not value your life, that of others, or the planet.
1
There is so much wrong with Trump that none of this should surprise anyone. He is pandering to the lowest element with lie after lie. He literally shows no respect for anyone or anything or any institution, unless he can gratify himself or profit from it. He is the least selfless person attempting to go into public service. Of course he groped and disrespected women, it is who he is!
30
I have two daughters. My 40+ year old daughter told me last week that she has been groped by men 6 times in the last 7 years, in public and in private home parties. It is time woman gained more power around the world -- Hilary Clinton has worked for that, not narcissist Donald Trump, not at all, never, never, unless it benefited him.
46
Men get groped too. It happened to me on a late arriving overcrowded LL subway car from Dekalb Avenue to Manhattan. I'm not sure if it was a man or a woman doing the groping.
1
It's clear that Donald J. Trump has experienced not mere financial bankruptcy, but also moral bankruptcy; there's nothing in our tax code, unfortunately, that makes compensation for this carried loss possible.
Voting on November 8 is free, aside from transportation costs, which sadly, are not deductible. But indulge, and participate anyway.
Voting on November 8 is free, aside from transportation costs, which sadly, are not deductible. But indulge, and participate anyway.
17
There is a very effective vaccine to prevent cervical cancer. Many parents are choosing NOT to get that vaccine for their children. Sad. Wonder how Pence feels about that. We know for sure that he doesn't approve of Planned Parenthood and so probably doesn't support the vaccine either. After all it costs money to buy and administer the vaccine.
18
Cervical cancer or any other vaccines are irrelevant to this article or to the issues confronting our country. By the way, I choose not to vaccinate my child and that is MY choice and not for anyone else to deem it "sad". To me and many others, what is sad is people blindly believing the government's assurances that vaccines are safe to indiscriminately administer to babies and children.
1
Think Mr. Trump has also done right about sticking to Russia, given the grave risks of miscalculations here. When HRC was Sec of State, Mr. Putin had charged her personally with interference in Russian elections. This backdrop may have provided the motivation for the hack.
However, the about-to-become President, HRC probably is the preferred partner from Russian perspective. Her thoughtful policies could lead to genuine post-cold war reconciliation, which will make room for their interests and concerns via negotiations in a realistic mode.
However, the about-to-become President, HRC probably is the preferred partner from Russian perspective. Her thoughtful policies could lead to genuine post-cold war reconciliation, which will make room for their interests and concerns via negotiations in a realistic mode.
The Republicans may have only themselves to blame for the mess there party is in, but Trump lowered the bar to levels even they never imagined. He's the equivalent of the self-invited, most embarrassing uncle or office worker at a party who never shuts up, gets ruder and more angry as the evening wears on and just won't leave. For the Republicans, it would be as if that crasher somehow assumed ownership of their home and started giving them orders.
18
Trump will go down in history for is use of FEMALES. And Hillary Clinton will be remembered for her EMAILS. There is a difference!
But we must answer the question about what Trump is right about.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I think the Trump is right about the need for CATCHWORDS and FRANKNESS in politics. I hope that he has started a trend. Because there is a breakdown in communications, today, which threatens our nation. We have lost our ability to reason with one another, as we babble on and on.
Robert Louis Stevenson said:
"Man is a creature who lives not on bread alone, but primarily on CATCHWORDS." Thank you, Donald Trump for this lesson.
But we must answer the question about what Trump is right about.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I think the Trump is right about the need for CATCHWORDS and FRANKNESS in politics. I hope that he has started a trend. Because there is a breakdown in communications, today, which threatens our nation. We have lost our ability to reason with one another, as we babble on and on.
Robert Louis Stevenson said:
"Man is a creature who lives not on bread alone, but primarily on CATCHWORDS." Thank you, Donald Trump for this lesson.
3
Spot on! Even worse than the words (or, we may assume or not as we please) actions of one single powerfull and highprofile "Alpha" are the laws that he will sign and the laws he will repeal. Anyone remember the "yes, the women should be punished" line on abortion? So that means: A woman gets Trumped (or otherwise manhandled). Forget any kind of legal recourse, forget any kind of medical intervention (this is the party that believes a rapists' child is a "gift from God"), forget any kind maternity care, maternity leave, early childhood opportunities so she could go back to work. And remember: the USA stands at the proud place of #31 (behind Romania and CUBA!!!) on infant mortality. Who cares about the children? Just as long as the women gets punished for ... what, exactly? Glad we have a Democratic candidate who has a very different notion of womens' rights and family values - as in actually valuing mothers and children.
81
Somehow the phrase "to make America great again" makes you wonder what is the vision of that great America Trump refers to: certain privileged white men can abuse minorities and openly assault women with impunity.
45
The most important part of this editorial is at the end. Many Republicans assume that Mike Pence will safely guide political-newbie Trump's decisions if they win, but know little about this poisonous second banana's views and philosophy. Pence's backward thinking and scorn for women should be shouted to the world.
180
Trump and the Clintons are cut from the same cloth. Hillary supported her husband by debasing and attempting to discredit women who accused Clinton of sexual assault. She could have held her husband accountable starting early in his career, and perhaps spared us the spectacle of impeachment, instead she enabled him.
Anyone can see that one is no better than the other regarding this issue, and that other issues could be covered in a credible manner instead. It seems though that Democrats just can't let it go, for the same reasons that Republicans endlessly talked about the cigar when Bill was in office; both are using values issues to energize the base.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Clinton_sexual_misconduct_allegations
Bill Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States (1993-2001), has been publicly accused by several women of sexual misconduct. Juanita Broaddrick has accused Clinton of rape; Kathleen Willey has accused Clinton of groping her without consent; and Paula Jones accuses Clinton of exposing himself and sexually harassing her
Anyone can see that one is no better than the other regarding this issue, and that other issues could be covered in a credible manner instead. It seems though that Democrats just can't let it go, for the same reasons that Republicans endlessly talked about the cigar when Bill was in office; both are using values issues to energize the base.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Clinton_sexual_misconduct_allegations
Bill Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States (1993-2001), has been publicly accused by several women of sexual misconduct. Juanita Broaddrick has accused Clinton of rape; Kathleen Willey has accused Clinton of groping her without consent; and Paula Jones accuses Clinton of exposing himself and sexually harassing her
8
What Bill did or didn't do is irrelevant.
2
Oh, look! Another squirrel!
Anyone can see that one (Clinton) is head and shoulders above the other on this issue.
1
Once again this election depends on the wisdom of the American woman's vote. I am old enough to remember when abortion was illegal and thousands of women died from illegal abortions. I also know in my heart that the right to life zealots will not stop until oral contraceptives are criminalized. Drumpf himself admitted that ultimately the woman must be punished for seeking an abortion, you can't make something illegal without some form of punishment. Do you want the ultimate misogynist to determine the next Supreme Court justice? I think not.
482
Nov. 9 vision:
If it were within my power/Trump would jump off Trump Tower/Bounce on Christie, Cruz to Marco,/Then flatten Ryan in Central Park--Oh!
If it were within my power/Trump would jump off Trump Tower/Bounce on Christie, Cruz to Marco,/Then flatten Ryan in Central Park--Oh!
1
Thanks for the reminder that Mike Pence is not "mainstream." He may have a smooth voice and some rhetorical restraint, but he was a member of the obstructionist Tea Party in Congress and obsessed with reproductive legislation. I had been thrilled to see him shuffle off to Indiana where apparently they are not that crazy about him either.
Cannot wait for this to be over. On the other hand, I wish I could stop the clock on Obama's presidency. What a lovely family!
Cannot wait for this to be over. On the other hand, I wish I could stop the clock on Obama's presidency. What a lovely family!
19
Trump, Pence, Limbaugh and guys like them want to use women for their own needs, denying females their individual rights and humanity. They've set the cultural norms so that guys can walk away from any resulting responsibility (pregnant? It's all your fault! Forced birth for all!), all the while blaming and shaming women for their participation (birth control makes women into sluts, right Rush?), while at the same time shaming and blaming them for not participating ("look at that face! She gained 60 pounds!").
They are abusers through and through.
It's all one big Christian "Hallelujah" for conservative men.
They are abusers through and through.
It's all one big Christian "Hallelujah" for conservative men.
16
You know, these aren't words. They are the admission of crimes, not locker room talk. To admit to having knowledge of crime is also a criminal act if it is not reported.
All these people who keep insisting it is innocent locker room talk need to remember there was no locker room involved in the admission of the crimes.
All these people who keep insisting it is innocent locker room talk need to remember there was no locker room involved in the admission of the crimes.
11
Choice on November 8th:
Civil (D) or Chaos (R)
Civil (D) or Chaos (R)
8
Wow, if nothing else, Trump's displayed an insane lack of judgment. Focus group studies indicated months ago that voters were not interested in hearing about Bill Clinton and his sexual conduct. The Trump campaign managers had to know this. Yet Trump made a circus of the 2nd debate, trotting out Bill Clinton accusers, as though Trump himself, an adulterous braggart, had nothing to hide. Now it's blown up in his face, as it should. He wanted scorched earth? Well. he got it ... from average women now stepping forward.
I think the press should republish information about the discrimination case Trump settled for $475,000 in 2013, after he ordered female supervisors working at a Trump restaurant to fire waitresses he said were not pretty enough for him. This guy's been a documented flagrant sexist for decades now, and as recently as 2013, he was still illegally at it.
I think the press should republish information about the discrimination case Trump settled for $475,000 in 2013, after he ordered female supervisors working at a Trump restaurant to fire waitresses he said were not pretty enough for him. This guy's been a documented flagrant sexist for decades now, and as recently as 2013, he was still illegally at it.
15
What is really frightening is that someone as flawed as Hillary Clinton may be elected president. The lesser of two evils is still evil.
3
Nick..as a neighbor who will be attending the civility talk in two weeks...the GOP and their voters (assuming they weren't democrats sent in to disrupt open primary states) had no idea DT did these things. If they did and the "people" who are now releasing these tapes had released them earlier, we could have had another person being the GOP figurehead instead of DT. So just because they support DT do not make them supporters of everything the man stands for, do the supporters of Hillary stand for treating fellow Americans as deplorables, practice shady quid pro quo dealings at work, take $$$ from all sources, and feign compassion just to get their rewards. please have some charity on those who support DT (and I am not one of them) as people who rather not support Hillary. It is a two person contest after all.
The character of Trump has been crystal clear throughout the whole primary process. The most recent allegations are simply confirmation of what has always been obvious. Further, whenever he has discussed any actual policy proposals he simply spouts word salad that says nothing except everything will be "great" with nothing to support his claims. He cannot force companies to move jobs to this country. His ideas to replace Obama care is the usual R nonsense that would simply make insurance unavailable. His supporters either live in a fact free world or simply hate HRC based on years of buy in to right wing propaganda.
8
Well, yes, it does mean that those supporting Trump are supporting him and giving fealty, because Trump has made it crystal clear that this is the ultimate loyalty test. Everybody, and I mean everybody knew everything about Trump that is being revealed here. Only the details emerging now are just giving granularity to the horror. Utter delusion for the GOP to pretend otherwise.
7
Trump is circling the drain.
18
Unfortunately, it's more like he's plugging the drain.
1
What Trump was right about is what he said in an interview with Chris Mathews years ago about why he was hesitant to run for president.
Referring to Bill Clinton, Trump said, "Can you imagine how controversial that’d be? You think about him [Bill Clinton] with the women. How about me with the women? Can you imagine …"
We no longer have to imagine. Trump was much worse. He is on wife number 3 and apparently has abused women in many ways.
Referring to Bill Clinton, Trump said, "Can you imagine how controversial that’d be? You think about him [Bill Clinton] with the women. How about me with the women? Can you imagine …"
We no longer have to imagine. Trump was much worse. He is on wife number 3 and apparently has abused women in many ways.
20
Methinks that there is more, as the drip, drip, drip of this water torture continues into the coming days.
8
I am amazed that the media has shied away from the story of the upcoming court date involving allegations that Trump raped a 13 year old girl. I know the case has gone nowhere in the past, but now a witness has come forward. This is far worse than the groping and words. Unfortunately the court date is not until December and most Americans will never know of this allegation until after they vote. The media has an obligation to report this story.
40
Trump the quite crazed gargoyle,
Down from his Tower came
His public to despoil
And yuuge crowds to inflame.
Since descent so tragic
For one and all of us,
Donald works his magic
Best on those who mock, cuss,
And angrily explode
Besmirching those around.
Hence such a heavy load
We sane to bear are bound!
Trump the quite crazed gargoyle,
Before his crowds does prate.
He sells his crude snake oil.
It's quite a concentrate:
Just stir and mix with hate,
Then quickly drink right down.
His dupes all think it's great!
They'd give to Trump a crown,
If crown they could bestow.
Since such is not the case,
By votes they'd bring us low.
The nation they'd disgrace.
The above is a work of fiction. Any similarity to gargoyles living or dead is merely coincidental.
Down from his Tower came
His public to despoil
And yuuge crowds to inflame.
Since descent so tragic
For one and all of us,
Donald works his magic
Best on those who mock, cuss,
And angrily explode
Besmirching those around.
Hence such a heavy load
We sane to bear are bound!
Trump the quite crazed gargoyle,
Before his crowds does prate.
He sells his crude snake oil.
It's quite a concentrate:
Just stir and mix with hate,
Then quickly drink right down.
His dupes all think it's great!
They'd give to Trump a crown,
If crown they could bestow.
Since such is not the case,
By votes they'd bring us low.
The nation they'd disgrace.
The above is a work of fiction. Any similarity to gargoyles living or dead is merely coincidental.
16
Billy Bush has been correctly fired for enabling Trump. Pries should do the same to Trump.
7
Whatever was left of the decorum of public speech in policy discourse and election campaigns was shredded by the Trump/Pence ticket. I deliberately cite Pence because he is a cognizant enabler of what Trump does.
It all comes as a woman attempts to become the nation's first female President. There is no irony. There is only deliberate and purposeful misogyny, if only every woman in the USA was perceptive enough to realize it!
It all comes as a woman attempts to become the nation's first female President. There is no irony. There is only deliberate and purposeful misogyny, if only every woman in the USA was perceptive enough to realize it!
24
The only point worth noting here is the cancer screening. The rest is normal male behavior. The more you deny it, the more obvious it becomes. And men are already barred from entering female restrooms.
You could say Trump is a lecher for ignoring those social norms, but that's no reason to vote for a woman who still believes in leftist ideas in the 21st century.
You could say Trump is a lecher for ignoring those social norms, but that's no reason to vote for a woman who still believes in leftist ideas in the 21st century.
2
Trump has done nothing for anyone but himself, women or men. He has no record of working on projects aimed at helping others, and he's stated no specific policies he would implement that would give aid or comfort to anyone else but himself.
In so many ways, he is unqualified and unfit for the Presidency...but perhaps above them all is that he just doesn't care about anyone else...all are objects that have our uses, but uses to him...he only seeks what he perceives the Presidency will give him - never what he earnestly hopes to do with that unique position and its power, to better the lives of American citizens.
Anyone - woman or man - who believes that Trump gives a fig about them is deluding themselves, as Trump has deluded himself.
In so many ways, he is unqualified and unfit for the Presidency...but perhaps above them all is that he just doesn't care about anyone else...all are objects that have our uses, but uses to him...he only seeks what he perceives the Presidency will give him - never what he earnestly hopes to do with that unique position and its power, to better the lives of American citizens.
Anyone - woman or man - who believes that Trump gives a fig about them is deluding themselves, as Trump has deluded himself.
27
EXACTLY... Trump is a ignorant narcissistic buffoon. The rest is just noise and may actually serve to help him win since we are all so sick of this ridiculous form of politics
5
He supports all of his ex-wives, has educated all of his children, has employed 10s of thousands people, has rebuilt entire neighborhoods and schools, has given scholarships to children of his workers...what have you done for others?
1
Are we women surprised. Hell no. He's just a very sad example of men at their very worse. Mr Trump is giving polite and kind men a very bad name. Hell no no more Mr Trump!
15
This Republican ticket has to go down.
I don't DARE sit home or waste my vote on a so called third party.
I don't DARE sit home or waste my vote on a so called third party.
153
Meanwhile, the Republican's long-running Hillary Hatred character assassination campaign and forced pregnancy crusade and has tilled the right-wing soil of Republican misogyny and produced a bumper crop of right-wing radicals who regard still think women were made from Adam's rib.
Trump Nation is Salem Witch Trial Nation where 'there has to be some form of punishment” for women.
It's hard for Trump Nation to overcome their White Male Inferiority complexes and feeble coping-with-reality skills.
After all, what kind of White Guys R Us nation is this if we can't harass minorities, discriminate against black people and fondle women's body parts to our psychopathic delight ?
Join the fight to protect the endangered American White Male Troglodyte.
White Male Troglodyte Lives Matter
Take
Refuge
Under a
Misogynist
Pig
TRUMP 2016
Trump Nation is Salem Witch Trial Nation where 'there has to be some form of punishment” for women.
It's hard for Trump Nation to overcome their White Male Inferiority complexes and feeble coping-with-reality skills.
After all, what kind of White Guys R Us nation is this if we can't harass minorities, discriminate against black people and fondle women's body parts to our psychopathic delight ?
Join the fight to protect the endangered American White Male Troglodyte.
White Male Troglodyte Lives Matter
Take
Refuge
Under a
Misogynist
Pig
TRUMP 2016
380
Wow, Downtown Verona, NJ. Bigotry is an obvious evil. You've displayed your plumage spectacularly. Vote for Hillary Clinton.
Trump claims "It's just words."
So it is ok if I use the n-word to describe someone I met? I know that it is brazenly offensive, a deliberate insult, but, hey it is just words, right? How could possibly make the argument that I really like and respect a person when I have used deliberately offensive terms to describe him?
Mostly I can dismiss and endure piggy attitudes that reduce women to their "do-ability" and can dismiss the idiots as semi-evolved morons who never emerged from their cave. But mostly, they are not running for President. I am not entrusting the military, the economy, the attorney general to someone who hasn't personally grown enough to even understand why his words matter. Who hasn't grown enough to understand why valuing half the population by how sexually attractive you find their various body parts, and dismissing wholly as valueless the ones that don't rate.
Word matter when they clearly express the thinking behind them.
So it is ok if I use the n-word to describe someone I met? I know that it is brazenly offensive, a deliberate insult, but, hey it is just words, right? How could possibly make the argument that I really like and respect a person when I have used deliberately offensive terms to describe him?
Mostly I can dismiss and endure piggy attitudes that reduce women to their "do-ability" and can dismiss the idiots as semi-evolved morons who never emerged from their cave. But mostly, they are not running for President. I am not entrusting the military, the economy, the attorney general to someone who hasn't personally grown enough to even understand why his words matter. Who hasn't grown enough to understand why valuing half the population by how sexually attractive you find their various body parts, and dismissing wholly as valueless the ones that don't rate.
Word matter when they clearly express the thinking behind them.
303
I want to know why this bully is constantly testing the boundaries. In its respect for free speech, Americans have allowed him to hold rallies where hate speech and incitement language were used and fistfights have broken out. His former campaign manager yanked a female journalist's arm (amazingly enough, that man now works for CNN). He has issued a direct threat to his opponent and subjected her to a hostile work environment. His surrogates use threatening and intimidating language on television. He praises Putin and tweets about Wikileaks. One outrageous thing after another. Well, obviously people know what he's trying to do. He is trying to intimidate his opponent and impress everybody to show he's the big strong guy compared to everybody else. It is not working, though. People can see right through this. Mr Trump is unlikely to win this election. But one thing is for damn sure. He is not going to intimidate the American people.
17
Sorry but words matter too. Words are how we communicate and when we communicate in words that dehumanize people we damage them. When the first word to describe Mexicans is rapist, we dismiss them as human beings. When women are described as pieces of ass and when a father agrees that his daughter is a "piece of ass" he demeans her as a human being. When you dismiss this behavior as only words, you normalize it without understanding how hurtful and damaging it is. And with Trump, it's the only way he knows how to communicate with women.
11
Yes, Trump is a mysgonist jerk and belongs in the slammer. But he's a prop. Let's look at the viable candidates. Clinton is not so much for women's rights. See here http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/03/hillary-clinton-late-term-ab.... She's also for fracking, although back peddling some now, I don't believe she is to be trusted..https://theintercept.com/2016/08/16/hillary-clinton-picks-tpp-and-fracki.... Clinton has been involved heavily in the TPP and will probably pivot back to its approval later after some tweaking. Paleaze. Gary Johnson doesn't know where anything is and yet is for the TPP. I'm voting for the only peace candidate out there..Jill Stein. 43% of the voters are Independents. There is actuallly a shot at winning. Anyway, I want to be part of the flowering of a new progressive era. With Trump or Clinton, it will be the same old, worse with Trump, but possibly more deadly and war like with Clinton.
1
On a fundamental level, how can a man who lacks basic wisdom and empathy be considred for the highest office in the land?
Obama (along with all of the truly great presidents), empathizes with people, including those who are not the same as he is. When she wrote "It Takes a Village," Ms. Clnton demonstrated that she also understands the world outside of herself. She CONNECTS with people. She is wise, she is empathetic.
Trump mistreats women, both with disgusting langauge and with abusive behavior, because he cannot SEE them, or FEEL what they must feel as he bullies them, shames them, traumatizes them, with insults and gropes and forced kisses.
As an older white man, my heart breaks for the women he has deeply hurt, and for future women he assaults. And I feel more shared pain and fear for the wider range of future targets and victims of this heartless, soulless man -- people of color, women, intellectuals, gay people, transgender people, foreigners, Muslims, Mexicans, handicapped people, and on and on.
To voters around the country, can't we all agree that his complete lack of empathy should be an immedicate disqualifier, when it comes to taking the office of Lincoln, FDR, Jefferson, Kennedy, Reagan, Washington?
Obama (along with all of the truly great presidents), empathizes with people, including those who are not the same as he is. When she wrote "It Takes a Village," Ms. Clnton demonstrated that she also understands the world outside of herself. She CONNECTS with people. She is wise, she is empathetic.
Trump mistreats women, both with disgusting langauge and with abusive behavior, because he cannot SEE them, or FEEL what they must feel as he bullies them, shames them, traumatizes them, with insults and gropes and forced kisses.
As an older white man, my heart breaks for the women he has deeply hurt, and for future women he assaults. And I feel more shared pain and fear for the wider range of future targets and victims of this heartless, soulless man -- people of color, women, intellectuals, gay people, transgender people, foreigners, Muslims, Mexicans, handicapped people, and on and on.
To voters around the country, can't we all agree that his complete lack of empathy should be an immedicate disqualifier, when it comes to taking the office of Lincoln, FDR, Jefferson, Kennedy, Reagan, Washington?
414
It is a great pity that out of 350 million Americans the Democrats could only find a inherently corrupt person to be their candidate. A tragic comedy will play out over the next four years and the U.S. will be the worse for it. Trump is a joke, Hillary is a tragedy.
3
this column does remind me of that other right object. that is the broken watch that is right twice a day. trump has tarnished his BRAND good for him. after the loss he will soon have regarding his pursuit of world destruction, he will scream twice as loud. so will his patrons. they will all be loud and losers. yes trump is dangerous. maybe evil i don't know. but for the others in that party evil thrives. cruz walker ryan mcconnell christie yeah an impressive bunch all.
4
What an extraordinary photograph by Damon Winter. What a good decision on the part of the editor who selected it to accompany this piece.
Words matter. Representations matter. Decisions, great and small, matter.
Words matter. Representations matter. Decisions, great and small, matter.
8
Marco Rubio does not have my vote.
What would it take for him to stop supporting Donald? He did not learn much from his mentor Jeb Bush.
Marco, remember Donald does not respect most people, including Latinos. That goes for Ted Cruz too.
What would it take for him to stop supporting Donald? He did not learn much from his mentor Jeb Bush.
Marco, remember Donald does not respect most people, including Latinos. That goes for Ted Cruz too.
20
If it is so horrible for Trump to enter women's changing rooms while they are naked, and it is, perhaps we should understand my so many women disapprove of men, who think they are women, doing the same thing.
4
Pretty much not. Amazing in all the spittle about bathrooms is the fact that trans having being using the bathroom, as long as there have been public bathrooms, and the protectors of our womanhood have never known. Its called a stall.
2
Aaron Adams: FYI - women don't undress in order to make use of bathroom facilities - in every public restroom I've been in, we go to a private booth, shut and lock the door - same as a transgender person would do!!
5
Many take issue not just with words, but what they suggest.
Men of fame and power can do as they please. Apparently, Roger Ailes, Bill Cosby and Dominique Strauss-Kahn thought so, if we trust what their many accusers say. Who will suffer the humiliation and pay the price to fight them?
In addition, boasting about an illegal act is an admission and condoning of the actions they represent. It can't be conveniently trivialized.
Similarly, when words are used such as, "We have to make sure that this election is not stolen from us.", let’s pray they don’t provoke actions that go far beyond these words. Playing to one’s base is one thing; inciting revolution is another. The acrimonious rhetoric unleashed in this campaign is unprecedented. “Lock her up”, or asking second amendment supporters to stop one’s opponent, aren't just words. They are the equivalent of asking the populace to storm the Bastille. People get hurt.
I’m reminded of Al Gore’s concession speech after an extremely contested recount in the state governed by his opponent’s brother.
“Tonight, for the sake of our unity as a people and the strength of our democracy, I offer my concession.
I also accept my responsibility, which I will discharge unconditionally, to honour the new president-elect and do everything possible to help him bring Americans together in fulfillment of the great vision that our Declaration of Independence defines and that our constitution affirms and defends.”
What, no civil war?
Men of fame and power can do as they please. Apparently, Roger Ailes, Bill Cosby and Dominique Strauss-Kahn thought so, if we trust what their many accusers say. Who will suffer the humiliation and pay the price to fight them?
In addition, boasting about an illegal act is an admission and condoning of the actions they represent. It can't be conveniently trivialized.
Similarly, when words are used such as, "We have to make sure that this election is not stolen from us.", let’s pray they don’t provoke actions that go far beyond these words. Playing to one’s base is one thing; inciting revolution is another. The acrimonious rhetoric unleashed in this campaign is unprecedented. “Lock her up”, or asking second amendment supporters to stop one’s opponent, aren't just words. They are the equivalent of asking the populace to storm the Bastille. People get hurt.
I’m reminded of Al Gore’s concession speech after an extremely contested recount in the state governed by his opponent’s brother.
“Tonight, for the sake of our unity as a people and the strength of our democracy, I offer my concession.
I also accept my responsibility, which I will discharge unconditionally, to honour the new president-elect and do everything possible to help him bring Americans together in fulfillment of the great vision that our Declaration of Independence defines and that our constitution affirms and defends.”
What, no civil war?
106
Mr. Greenwald, please see Al Gore talking about climate change onstage with Hillary Clinton in Florida before a crowd of millenials at Lake County College in Florida. He is the same Al Gore - total public servant, as was his father.
As a former police detective, I keep track of crime statistics. For instance, out of every 100 rapes in this country, 40 are reported. Of those, 10 lead to an arrest, 8 are prosecuted in court, 5 lead to felony convictions, and 3 lead to a prison sentences (that averages approximately 4.9 years served, nationwide - some states see longer sentences, pushing the average up to that number, while many states see time-served of much less duration).
The sad reality is that most rapists are serial. And most begin their "careers" as gropers. Perhaps these facts should be on laminated cards in each and every voting booth.
The sad reality is that most rapists are serial. And most begin their "careers" as gropers. Perhaps these facts should be on laminated cards in each and every voting booth.
420
They should be posted in schools, starting in grade school.
I don't think we'll have to wait long for more reports, Nicholas. I'm sure last night's revelations are but the first rumble of a long, violent stormy night.
I think of all the Trump stuff--behavior, not words--it's his seeming obsession with young women, and I mean, young. There is something so creepy about a sixty-something man barging into a beauty contest dressing room, or assessing the future physical appeal of a 10-year old.
Earlier in the campaign, Trump was compared to the burlesque Berlusconi, likely because of his outsized personality and role in the Italian entertainment industry.
I'd venture to say Trump now stands in "proud" company with Berlusconi's behavior, marked by a series of famous parties, retreats, and a focus on women a quarter of his age, which scandalized many in Italy.
It's not a pretty comparison. America's obsession with sex--where, how, and when public figures pursue it--has been useful only in so much as it reveals serious issues in our social fabric. Sex sells, more than a serious discussion of public and private policies and programs that might improve the lives of ordinary Americans.
I think of all the Trump stuff--behavior, not words--it's his seeming obsession with young women, and I mean, young. There is something so creepy about a sixty-something man barging into a beauty contest dressing room, or assessing the future physical appeal of a 10-year old.
Earlier in the campaign, Trump was compared to the burlesque Berlusconi, likely because of his outsized personality and role in the Italian entertainment industry.
I'd venture to say Trump now stands in "proud" company with Berlusconi's behavior, marked by a series of famous parties, retreats, and a focus on women a quarter of his age, which scandalized many in Italy.
It's not a pretty comparison. America's obsession with sex--where, how, and when public figures pursue it--has been useful only in so much as it reveals serious issues in our social fabric. Sex sells, more than a serious discussion of public and private policies and programs that might improve the lives of ordinary Americans.
42
Reading Kristof's examples of failures in the American health care system leads to raise this rhetorical question:
If Hillary Clinton becomes President and both the House and the Senate have majorities on her side of the gulf will she and the Congress present a Universal Health Care Bill clearly modeled on the best examples from the countries that have UHC?
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
Dual citizen US SE
If Hillary Clinton becomes President and both the House and the Senate have majorities on her side of the gulf will she and the Congress present a Universal Health Care Bill clearly modeled on the best examples from the countries that have UHC?
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
Dual citizen US SE
24
This is the first time I think Nicholas Kristof nailed it. Too often, his writing style strikes me as righteous indignation and erring on the side of wanting it both ways. Today, he stated what he thought based on facts and didn't preach.
We need to move the dialogue beyond outrage at Trump and his gaggle of supporters (shame on Kellyanne & the other women on the payroll) and work on developing a culture of mutual respect for all including differences of opinion and lifestyles. This is the only way to address the problems and challenges facing the US and the world.
We need to move the dialogue beyond outrage at Trump and his gaggle of supporters (shame on Kellyanne & the other women on the payroll) and work on developing a culture of mutual respect for all including differences of opinion and lifestyles. This is the only way to address the problems and challenges facing the US and the world.
11
I don't want either of those men in The White House: Trump or Bill Clinton. But this is the choice you gave us so I'm voting for one of them.
uh...only one of those men is running. a very qualified woman is running too. people are individuals
17
People are individuals. So we use the spouse as needed and disown the spouse as needed. Like the Bishops who call their pedo priests independent contractors when convenient. The sequel to the 90s, forced upon us through campaign wiki trickery, brings the true meaning of grunge back to The White House.
Rob you are spot on. The right just can't bring themselves to identify the fact that a WOMAN is running not her husband. You know Trump has a wife, and we have all seen her "art photos" why not a peep about that?
2
Good heavens, not you, too, Nick. The New York Trumps: All the Trump That's Fit to Print (and Some That's Not)!
So many columnists, yet none are talking about how we have a single viable choice for President who is demonstrably at odds with -- and by her own admission, detached from -- the interests of the majority of Americans.
Seriously. Look at how the nominees were chosen: with the assent of 10% or so of eligible voters. A plurality of voters are not members of either major party, and get no say in most states on whom they get to choose from in the general election. Thus the two most unpopular nominees in modern history get foisted on the American people; one's a sexual predator, and the other is married to one. Both were the overwhelming favorites of the press, which danced to one's tune and ACTIVELY COLLUDED with the other's campaign.
Meanwhile, a major media corporation knowingly waits and sits on campaign-destroying evidence to engineer an "October surprise" and essentially guarantee that one of these candidates will lose.
Is nobody else seeing the problem here? In the schadenfreude festival, we seem to have lost sight of what all of this means. People talked of Trump turning us into a banana republic when he threatened to jail his opponent. But it seems to me that we already are one.
So many columnists, yet none are talking about how we have a single viable choice for President who is demonstrably at odds with -- and by her own admission, detached from -- the interests of the majority of Americans.
Seriously. Look at how the nominees were chosen: with the assent of 10% or so of eligible voters. A plurality of voters are not members of either major party, and get no say in most states on whom they get to choose from in the general election. Thus the two most unpopular nominees in modern history get foisted on the American people; one's a sexual predator, and the other is married to one. Both were the overwhelming favorites of the press, which danced to one's tune and ACTIVELY COLLUDED with the other's campaign.
Meanwhile, a major media corporation knowingly waits and sits on campaign-destroying evidence to engineer an "October surprise" and essentially guarantee that one of these candidates will lose.
Is nobody else seeing the problem here? In the schadenfreude festival, we seem to have lost sight of what all of this means. People talked of Trump turning us into a banana republic when he threatened to jail his opponent. But it seems to me that we already are one.
5
I'm glad you mentioned Pence. He is running with Trump, remember? He can't have it both ways, cherry picking what he likes or dislikes about Trump.
As annoying, Pence is mimicking in words and gestures Ronald Reagan, as if he practices in front of a mirror every day. He does succeed in achieving RR's disingenuousness.
What an accomplishment!
As annoying, Pence is mimicking in words and gestures Ronald Reagan, as if he practices in front of a mirror every day. He does succeed in achieving RR's disingenuousness.
What an accomplishment!
57
Funny, where were these accuses when it happened, oh that's right, there wouldn't be any publicity for them. Good thing nobody cares, what we care about is that Clinton and her actual women abusing husband stay out of the White House and out of our lives. My grandchildren deserve a better government that what will happen if Clinton is elected....................I wish a rattlesnake was running, I'd vote for it, but unfortunately we have to vote for whatever it takes to avoid Hillary Clinton. I have been a lifelong Republican but supported and donated to Bernie Sanders because he seemed honest and passionate. Didn't agree with all he wanted to do, there is nothing "free", college or anything else. Us hardworking taxpayers pay for it............I am 67 and I have never been so disappointed or disgusted with the government. Race relations are worse since Obama took office, not better, faith is all but gone in our DOJ, FBI and most of the politicians who are corrupt and only care about themselves. Like I said, if you find a rattlesnake, let me know, I'll vote for it. But for now, it's Trump!!!!!!
1
Respectfully, these statements break my heart. The anger directed toward a woman as well as a current president who have spent their lives championing the rights of women, children, families and the poor are not based in reality but are a display of the impact of decades of the GOP's twisted attempt to garner the support of voters by pandering to basest fears. It saddens me that we have become a country full of angry people closed off from the ability to understand and accept the reality that 'the other' is not what we should fear.
93
I'd vote for a cockroach if it ran against Trump. Trump spoke the truth when he bragged about sexually assaulting women and getting away with it because he is famous. The women who are now coming forward are just confirming his story. I would not be surprised if Clinton's accusers (Broaddrick, Jones and Willey) were and are being paid handsomely by the backers of Judicial Watch. You are obviously face down in the Trump Kool Aid.
56
You can always write in a rattlesnake. You wouldn't be alone.
5
"You've got to treat 'em like _____".
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Obviously Trump feels he needs to be punished. Hope America doesn't disappoint him.
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Obviously Trump feels he needs to be punished. Hope America doesn't disappoint him.
212
Silly title for a column. What’s the point? Sure, we are more appalled by predatory actions. But this is typical excuse making by the Creep candidate. Kristof must know that psychopaths use talk before they attack. Even if not, who wants to hear garbage? I don’t like the words or the actions.
Predators think if someone accepts the language, they may accept the hurtful actions also. May be easy marks, easily intimidated. Words and actions go together---both show arrogant disrespect for others.
Some use offensive language proudly, to show their defiance of social conventions. Gives satisfaction to the insecure, who need attention.
Trump defies, that's his whole schtick.
Predators think if someone accepts the language, they may accept the hurtful actions also. May be easy marks, easily intimidated. Words and actions go together---both show arrogant disrespect for others.
Some use offensive language proudly, to show their defiance of social conventions. Gives satisfaction to the insecure, who need attention.
Trump defies, that's his whole schtick.
37
Mr. Kristof, in this recent furor over Access HollywoodGate, I return, almost without thinking about it, to the eternal goodness, decency, morality, integrity of the current president of the United States. Can one even begin to imagine Barack Obama living at 1600 Pennsylvania since 2008 if even a second of his past was even remotely related to Donald Trump's current celebrity?
America's greatness has been leavened--or deadened--by an electorate that somehow finds Mr. Obama a danger to this country all the while going all-in for a sexual predator, liar, thief, adulterer, tax dodger and admirer of gulag states like Russia. Mr. Obama's presidency is nearing its end and we're investing an inordinate amount of time on a man who least deserves it. We will all wake up one day and ask, "where did President Obama go?"
Trump on the trail has positively yelled "do as I say *and* do what I do." He recognizes no boundary between the acceptable and the ah, deplorable. He baldly lied to Anderson Cooper last Sunday night, crawling behind "locker room" talk but not admitting that his behavior went far beyond "talk." Sixty years ago, when I was a young swimmer, all I heard in the showers were complaints about how bad the Bruins or Red Sox were. This was when, supposedly, "America was great."
Trump can never be trusted; his words and actions will never mesh. He's spinning a web for all of us because he thinks we're all flies to be trapped and consumed at his leisure. He's a bloated pus bag.
America's greatness has been leavened--or deadened--by an electorate that somehow finds Mr. Obama a danger to this country all the while going all-in for a sexual predator, liar, thief, adulterer, tax dodger and admirer of gulag states like Russia. Mr. Obama's presidency is nearing its end and we're investing an inordinate amount of time on a man who least deserves it. We will all wake up one day and ask, "where did President Obama go?"
Trump on the trail has positively yelled "do as I say *and* do what I do." He recognizes no boundary between the acceptable and the ah, deplorable. He baldly lied to Anderson Cooper last Sunday night, crawling behind "locker room" talk but not admitting that his behavior went far beyond "talk." Sixty years ago, when I was a young swimmer, all I heard in the showers were complaints about how bad the Bruins or Red Sox were. This was when, supposedly, "America was great."
Trump can never be trusted; his words and actions will never mesh. He's spinning a web for all of us because he thinks we're all flies to be trapped and consumed at his leisure. He's a bloated pus bag.
549
Yes, I already miss President Obama more than I can say...!
63
Absolutely. If we were talking trash in locker rooms back in the day, it was about the crosstown baseball or football team, or about our most hated league rival.
I never traveled in Drumpf's tawdry, libertine circles. In fact, most Americans never traveled in those circles.
That Drumpf thinks this is locker room talk only demonstrates what a jaded, twisted circle he's travels in. I can only imagine his role models.
Truly, given his crude, rude, and lewd sensibilities, coupled to his talent his dishonestly, Drumpf remains an ideal candidate for entry into America's prison system.
I never traveled in Drumpf's tawdry, libertine circles. In fact, most Americans never traveled in those circles.
That Drumpf thinks this is locker room talk only demonstrates what a jaded, twisted circle he's travels in. I can only imagine his role models.
Truly, given his crude, rude, and lewd sensibilities, coupled to his talent his dishonestly, Drumpf remains an ideal candidate for entry into America's prison system.
15
Soxared, what you have illustrated is that in America racism has no limits.
Almost 127 million people voted for the two major presidential candidates in 2012.
As over 40% of voters still support Trump, that indicates there are over 50 million people who support the boorish short-fingered charlatan.
That is quite frightening.
As over 40% of voters still support Trump, that indicates there are over 50 million people who support the boorish short-fingered charlatan.
That is quite frightening.
475
I am sorry, but where did you get these numbers. In the primaries only 9% of the electorate voted for Trump.
Thank you.
Consumed by my outrage against Trump, I had almost forgotten that Mike Pence (that apparent vanilla cookie soaked in milk) is as dangerously self-righteous and villainous as Ted Cruz.
Consumed by my outrage against Trump, I had almost forgotten that Mike Pence (that apparent vanilla cookie soaked in milk) is as dangerously self-righteous and villainous as Ted Cruz.
728
If I may make one clarification MR. Kristof - the vulgar words on the Trump tape weren't offensive - they were just crass and yucky. It's the PG words that were the ones that triggered fear in women - the words describing the grabbing of a woman and almost as bad - the predatory setup of the professional woman waiting to greet them to do her job. This is what women are reacting to on such a visceral level. How many times have men set us up, forced unwanted contact on us and gotten away with it - leaving us feeling violated and vulnerable. I couldn't care less what word a man uses to describe my tush - so long as he doesn't try to grab it!
60
@Dana: What's most offensive about Trump, and what sets him apart from some other misbehaving men, is his contempt.
Many conservatives see sex as something degrading that men do to women. This is Trump's attitude. Unwanted kissing and groping by men like him is particularly disgusting because it is purely malevolent.
Many conservatives see sex as something degrading that men do to women. This is Trump's attitude. Unwanted kissing and groping by men like him is particularly disgusting because it is purely malevolent.
18
Excellent piece, Mr Kristof. Thank you. You nailed it when you stated "Maybe this can be a wake-up call for us men to appreciate that sexist epithets are no more acceptable than racist epithets." I actually have a lot of faith in both the millennial generation and generation Z kids, of which my two children are a part of. Both generations are much more compassionate and accepting of diversity than those that came before them. So much so that the generation Z kids are almost completely blind to differences between individuals. How much that will continue as they age, remains to be seen, but I do have hope.
As for us in the here and now, I have a sickening suspicion that today was but the tip of an iceberg, and we are all due to be dragged, mercilessly, through an ever-more-dirtying mud puddle we didn't ask for. We're going to need a coast-to-coast, nationwide shower after all this is over.
As for us in the here and now, I have a sickening suspicion that today was but the tip of an iceberg, and we are all due to be dragged, mercilessly, through an ever-more-dirtying mud puddle we didn't ask for. We're going to need a coast-to-coast, nationwide shower after all this is over.
185
I must disagree with you and Trump about words mattering less than actions. Assault of any kind starts with words, and then the action happens. We have to treat words and actions equally in that respect, as in, if we stop the words, we hopefully can stall any actions that will take place.
79
Actually, an assault can occur with words only if we are using a legal definition. It's unwanted touching or fear of unwanted touching.
7
bush: "..all I can see is legs."
trump: "..it looks good."
What is the "it" trump is talking about?