Campaign Action
On Tuesday morning, Donald Trump tried to distract Americans from the attention surrounding the FBI investigation into his collusion with Russia. And because he’s a rabid misogynist and racist who is always lashing out at women and people of color when he thinks it's politically expedient to do so, he couldn’t seem to help himself by tweeting about the women who have accused him of sexual misconduct and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. He flat-out called his accusers liars and then implied Gillibrand was a prostitute who had traded campaign contributions for sexual favors.
This is why it's nothing more than delicious irony that a few hours later, 59 female lawmakers held a press conference in which they called on Congress to launch an investigation of the sexual harassment and abuse allegations against Trump himself.
In a letter, 59 members of the Democratic Women's Working Group (DWWG) ask Oversight Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) and ranking member Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) to open an investigation into the matter after more than a dozen women have "publicly accused the President of sexual misconduct." [...]
"In the time of 'Me Too,' women across the country are coming forward with their own harrowing stories of sexual harassment and assault. Members of Congress have also come under scrutiny and investigation, with some resigning, for improper sexual conduct. We cannot ignore the multitude of women who have come forward with accusations against Mr. Trump," the DWWG members wrote.
Right on, ladies. After all, in his own words, Trump has acknowledged that he kisses and gropes women—just because he’s famous and can. That wasn’t enough to stop millions of people from voting for him and landing us in this mess we are in today. But the stories of the 17 women who have accused him of misconduct deserve to be heard and taken seriously. We should absolutely believe them. Presumption of innocence aside (which only applies to defendants in a court of law), do we really need more proof Trump is predator? His own words and actions give him away.
In their press conference, the members of the DWWG noted that some male colleagues have also signed the letter, which brings them to more than 100 members of Congress who all agree that Trump’s behavior should be investigated. And they had strong words about his early morning tweetstorm as well.
[Rep. Jackie Speier D- California], a vocal advocate for victims of sexual assault and harassment, said of the social media spat, "what took place this morning when the president tweeted about our colleague, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, is grotesque, it took my breath away and it represents the conduct of a person who is ill-equipped to be President of the United States."
Donald Trump is not above the law—though he, his family and his rabid supporters seem to think he is. “Locker room talk” about grabbing women by the pussy without permission is completely unacceptable and should cause us great concern about this man’s fitness for office. But even more concerning is the fact that there are so many women who have been harassed and assaulted by this man. Those are crimes that are punishable by law. They should be investigated and most certainly can and should result in his impeachment. Since Trump hates women so much, it is only fitting that maybe it will be women that put an end to his presidency.
To watch the DWWG press conference, click here.