Some things should go without saying, but mocking a sexual assault victim while a cheering crowd feeds into the public dress-down, is never OK.
Who would ever do such a thing, some people may wonder.
Well, none other than the president of the United States, who seems incapable of hitting rock bottom with how low he can go.
President Donald Trump continues to use his position as the leader of the free world to insult and embarrass anyone who deals a blow to his fragile ego.
In this case, he was tearing apart Christine Blasey Ford, who had the gall to put his Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation in jeopardy by accusing Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her while they were in high school.
Some, like me, may have a similar routine, which is to flip on CNN to brush up on the day’s news after getting home from work. When I got home on Tuesday night, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. It was actually appalling.
Here Trump was, at a rally in Mississippi, openly mocking Ford about her story of sexual assault and the subsequent testimony she gave during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last week.
He was attempting to embarrass a victim for not remembering certain details of her sexual assault at a party, as if those details would be prominent in the memory of a trauma that occurred decades ago.
“How did you get home? I don’t remember. How’d you get there? I don’t remember. Where is the place? I don’t remember. How many years ago was it? I don’t know,” Trump said in an imitation of Ford.
What was prominent to Ford was what happened during the assault and how she felt, which she shared during her extensive testimony.
The horror wasn’t only in his bullying words, magnified by his position of power, but also in the way the crowd was reacting. The people present were cheering and laughing in an almost frenzy-like atmosphere, as he tore apart a woman who wasn’t present to defend herself, and even if she was, what could she do? She was powerless in this situation.
Here the president was, surrounded by his supporters, relaying a message that Ford’s experience didn’t matter, which could convey to other sexual assault survivors that their claims won’t be believed, so they shouldn’t bother coming forward.
If this was any other president, this behavior would be unthinkable, but unfortunately, with Trump, it’s become par for the course.
If anything, he’s answering a tone-deaf tweet he posted two weeks ago, questioning why Ford didn’t come forward with her testimony until Kavanaugh was nominated for the Supreme Court.
“I have no doubt that, if the attack on Dr. Ford was as bad as she says, charges would have been immediately filed with local law enforcement agencies by either her or her loving parents,” Trump tweeted on Sept. 21.
The tweet sparked a hashtag on Twitter #WhyIDidntReport, with sexual assault survivors detailing reasons why they weren’t comfortable coming forward when their assault happened.
Maybe women are afraid they’ll be met with the same disrespect that Trump showed Ford on Tuesday night, dismissing her claims and bullying her for coming forward.
His rant was self-serving. If the public believes Ford’s testimony and sexual assault claims against Kavanaugh, that makes Trump look bad for putting forth his nomination in the first place.
He wasn’t thinking about Ford or about other women who have lived through sexual assault. He was thinking about himself, but he wasn’t done.
During a time period of the #MeToo movement, where women are bravely sharing their experiences of sexual assault and supporting one another, Trump doesn’t believe we should fear for women who are harassed and assaulted, but rather the young men who are supposedly under attack.
“It’s a very scary time for young men in America,” Trump said.
Really? How is it a scary time for young men, if they choose to respect women and not attempt to sexually harass or assault them?
Is Trump implying that the majority of women coming forward with claims of sexual assault are making up stories and are out to get these male “victims,” similar to how he is characterizing the Ford and Kavanaugh situation?
According to Trump, Kavanaugh is the victim here — Ford is destroying the reputation and life of an innocent man.
I guess it shouldn’t be surprising. Trump has faced sexual assault claims himself by more than a dozen woman and in some instances, his defense was to say an accuser wasn’t attractive enough for him to have any interest in her.
Trump did have one thing partially right in his statement. It is a scary time, but not for the reasons he outlined.
When the country’s president mocks and blames a victim, it’s sending the message that it’s OK for others to do the same. I guess my only hope is that most people choose not to follow that lead and instead choose to show some humanity.
