Donald Trump, president of the United States and accused sexual predator, mocked the #MeToo movement at a Montana rally on Thursday evening. It's the first time that Trump, who's been accused of sexual misconduct by 19 women and bragged about sexual assault on the infamous Access Hollywood tape, has directly addressed the international movement against sexual harassment and violence.
The remarks came as Trump was rambling about Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a potential contender in the 2020 presidential election. He said he would donate $1 million to a charity selected by the Massachusetts Democrat if she could prove she has Native American ancestry. (An Obama birther as recently as last year, Trump in the past offered between $5 and $50 million if anyone could show proof refuting his racist belief that President Barack Obama was not born in the U.S.)
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During the rant, Trump once again insulted Warren and indigenous peoples in the U.S. by calling her "Pocahontas." He then "promised" his supporters that if he faced Warren on a presidential debate he would give her a DNA test.
"I’m going to get one of those little kits and in the middle of the debate, when she proclaims she’s of Indian heritage — because her mother said she has high cheekbones, that’s her only evidence,” Trump said. “We will take that little kit, but we have to do it gently, because we’re in the ‘Me Too’ generation, so we have to be very gentle."
Trump suggests he would like to test Elizabeth Warren for Native American heritage, "but we have to do it gently because we're in the MeToo generation." pic.twitter.com/kgQ54Lxqbo
— Axios (@axios) July 6, 2018
The crowd loved that the president made a racist joke where the punchline was about sexual assault. They also cheered even though presumably Trump, a man who prides himself in having a high I.Q., apparently doesn't understand the difference between how a DNA kit and a rape kit works.
As if we needed more irony, Trump's "joke" came on the same day a 2007 video showing his daughter Ivanka Trump being groped by comedian Andy Dick made the news and the same day the White House announced former Fox News executive Bill Shine would be the new deputy communications director. Shine was ousted from the network last year after it was revealed he had covered up sexual harassment.
Totally normal behavior for a president who has claimed no one respects women more than he does.
It's not a surprise that Trump took a swipe at the #MeToo movement , which has brought down powerful men like himself in all spheres, including in Washington, D.C. But since he thinks it's okay to mock survivors of sexual harassment and sexual assault, maybe we should remind the world of every single allegation of sexual misconduct that he is currently facing.
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Rachel Crooks told The New York Times Trump kissed her without her consent in 2006 while she was a receptionist at an investment firm located in Trump Tower.
Kristin Anderson told The Washington Post that in the early 1990s Trump sat next to her at a New York club and after sliding his fingers up her skirt without her consent, he groped her through her underwear.
Jessica Drake said during a press conference that Trump kissed her without her consent at a charity golf tournament in 2006.
Mariah Billado, a Miss Teen USA contestant in 1997, told BuzzFeed News that Trump walked in on her and the other teenage contestants while they were changing backstage.
Jill Harth told The Guardian that Trump tried to grope her and made unwanted advances toward her during a meeting in 1992. She alleges that he groped her in 2003 while she and her partner were touring Mar-a-Lago.
Summer Zervos told reporters that Trump forcibly kissed her and touched her breast without her consent at a dinner in 2007.
Lisa Boyne told HuffPost that in 1996 Trump made lewd comments about other women while they were at a meeting in a restaurant.
Tasha Dixon told CBS News’ Los Angeles affiliate that during the 2001 Miss USA pageant Trump would walk in on contestants while they were changing.
Cathy Heller told The Guardian that Trump forcibly kissed her at a Mother's Day brunch at Mar-a-Lago in 1997.
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Samantha Holvey, who participated in the 2006 Miss USA pageant, told CNN that Trump made lewd comments about the contestants.
Karena Virginia told The Washington Post that Trump touched her breast without her consent at the 1998 U.S. Open tennis tournament.
Ninni Laaksonen told the Finnish newspaper Ilta-Sanomat that Trump groped her in 2006 while backstage at the Late Show with David Letterman.
Jessica Leeds told The New York Times that Trump groped her breasts and tried to slide his hand up her skirt without her consent during a flight in the early 1980s.
Temple Taggart told The New York Times that Trump kissed her without her consent at the 1997 Miss USA pageant and a subsequent meeting in Manhattan.
Melinda McGillivray told the Palm Beach Post that Trump groped her during a concert at Mar-a-Lago in 2003.
Natasha Stoynoff, a journalist at People magazine, said Trump forcibly kissed her while she was doing a story at Mar-a-Lago in 2005.
Cassandra Searles said in a Facebook post that Trump repeatedly groped her backside while she was a contestant in the 2013 Miss USA pageant.
Bridget Sullivan, a contestant at the 2000 Miss Teen USA pageant, told BuzzFeed News that Trump would give the teens "a squeeze like a creepy uncle would" and walked in on contestants while they were changing in the dressing room.
Ivana Trump said that after a particularly nasty argument with President Trump in 1989, they had a sexual encounter she described as "rape." The claims were made during the couple's divorce proceedings in the early 1990s. Ivana later retracted the statement, saying she felt "violated" by the encounter but she didn't think it was rape.
Trump has denied all of the allegations.
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