This Valentine’s Day, President Trump finally broke his silence on the Rob Porter domestic abuse scandal. “I am totally opposed to domestic violence of any kind. Everyone knows that, and it almost doesn’t even have to be said,” the Trump said to reporters in the Oval Office. His White House Staff Secretary resigned on February 7th amidst allegations from both of his ex-wives, who reported that he had physically and emotionally abused them. He denied the allegations—even amidst photographic evidence——prior to stepping down. These recent events are just another indicator of how men in the White House don’t respect women. According to CNN, Porter’s ex-wife, Colbie Holderness, provided photos of a black eye she claims was the work of her husband to the FBI just one week after President Trump’s inauguration. Porter has maintained his position in the White House since January 20th. The photos were given as part of a security clearance background check on Porter.
While I will admit that the FBI has had their hands full with the Russia scandal, pressing matters of domestic abuse should not be tolerated at any level. Though it is not necessarily clear that the photos were given directly to the White House, it is likely the FBI would have at least provided a synopsis of the images. Given his position as President of the United States, it is unlikely that Donald Trump was unaware.
“Nobody has more respect for women than I do. Nobody,” said Donald Trump in the final Presidential debate. His quote even garnered laughter from the crowd, which included his own supporters. This poor excuse of a defense came not long after the video of his “locker room talk” conversation with Billy Bush (cousin of former Republican President George W. Bush, whose father recently had been accused of groping women from his wheelchair) in which Trump was quoted as saying, “And when you’re a star they let you do it. You can do anything...grab ‘em by the pussy.” There seems to be a trend amongst high ranking politicians——commonly of the Republican party——of disrespect for women by varying and often startling degrees.
With their Ivy League degrees, politicians should have a better sense of how to treat women. Perhaps the most pitiful fact of all is that this trend seems to exist across the board, even for democrats. Former Democratic President Bill Clinton did not give his wife Hillary Clinton the respect she deserves while he was in the White House, going so far as to take advantage of White House interns. Long time high ranking Democratic senator from Minnesota Al Franken resigned on January 2, 2018, after several allegations of sexual misconduct were made against him.
What’s unnerving about the ordeal is the lack of support from female politicians due to political ties. Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic representative from California, was quick to attack Trump and Steve Wynn, the RNC finance chairman for sexual misconduct allegations, but was hesitant to criticize democrats Al Franken and John Conyers Jr., even going so far as to claim people should wait for “due process” to condemn the men, a stark contrast to the #MeToo movement. Even during President Clinton’s scandal with Monica Lewinski, Hillary Clinton dismissed it originally as a “ring-wing conspiracy.” History repeats itself today, with Melania and Ivanka speaking out in support of their “loving husband and father” who recently has been accused of cheating on Melania with pornstar Stormy Daniels during her pregnancy with Barron Trump.
Unfortunately, this is not a problem exclusive to the White House. According to the National Coalition against domestic violence, more than ten million Americans are victims of such violence annually. One in three women (and even one in four men) have been victims of some form of physical violence by an intimate partner within their lifetime. It’s no wonder, though, that politicians fail to confront these issues since they are often guilty of it themselves.
Gender inequality is something that needs to be looked at nationally, but the current administration needs to do some soul-searching and solve its own demons before it attempts to support women and truly “Make America Great Again.”