As of this writing, sixteen women have come forward to accuse then Republican candidate for the Presidency of the United States of sexual assault.
To add further insult to the injuries, he has admitted to his conduct in the infamous "Access Hollywood" tape.
In the aftermath a Washington Post/ABC News poll asked respondents whether they believed Trump “probably has or has not made unwanted sexual advances toward women". (68%) per cent of registered voters believed he had, while only 14% believed that he had not.
Nonetheless, 43% of likely voters in the poll said that they would vote for Trump. In plainspeak, a significant portion of voters believe Trump is lying about his history of sexual assault and simply do not care.
Trump, for his part, responded to the accusations by reinserting Bill Clinton's sexual history into the campaign dialogue. I believe the Clinton accusers (although I remain skeptical of the motives of Clinton accusers, Paula Jones and Gennifer Flowers, both of whom were paid to speak against Clinton).
The claims against Clinton have been publicly aired and thoroughly litigated. He was subjected to the public humiliation of being impeached and disbarred and his conduct will remain a scarlet letter on his reputation for the rest of his life and beyond.
Bill Clinton is, however, not a candidate for the Presidency and not relevant to the present campaign. Trump's parading of the Clinton accusers before the press and during the debates, is yet another shameful example of his complete disdain and cynicism for women in general and assault victims in particular.
(An aside: Trump has also tried to exploit Hillary Clinton's defense of a rapist into the campaign. The facts of her representation show her involvement to be nothing other than professional, high quality and it makes Trump's exploitation of the victim in that case all the more appalling.)
To belabor the obvious, from the dawn of time, men, including those in political and celebrity power positions have forcibly stolen sexual "favors" from women. That includes many of the most vociferous and hypocritical of the Clinton impeachment prosecutors, past and present (e.g., Hastert, Gingrich, Burton, Livingston, Guiliani, Bannon, etc.). In Hastert's case, the victims were teenage boys, for which the former House speaker is now serving prison time.
At the time of the Clinton revelations many were hopeful it would serve as a harbinger of change in public and private attitudes towards sexual aggression and abuse of women. It did not.
With the current wave of accusations against entertainers, news personalities and high public figures, we now have a renewed opportunity to effect meaningful dialogue and permanent reform.
Standing in the way is the man elected to the highest office in the land. A man credibly and repeatedly accused of sexual assault. A man who supports the election to the US Senate of Roy Moore, who has been credibly and repeatedly accused of assaults on under aged children.
Trump's response to the allegations made against him, his attacks on his accusers, his willingness to support other men similarly accused solely on the basis of political affiliation is immoral, unethical, and disqualifying. His continued presence among us is a boil infecting and poisoning the entire nation and it needs to be excised via impeachment proceedings. Now.
HL October 12, 2016
Updated April 26, 2017
Updated November 29, 2017
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