First, let me say, to denounce a thing, one must first acknowledge that it exists. That such a thing is uncomfortable does not mean we should do nothing.
That said, if you’ve been to a Trump rally recently, you’ve noticed the insanely sexist t-shirts that say, “Hillary sucks, but not like Monica.” So, yesterday, I interviewed the man who printed up the t-shirts as well as several other vendors and attendees. A former DJ who goes by MC Chilly runs the company Street Talk Tees, and says he does it for his wife and five grandchildren, and is voting either Bernie or Hillary.
Another vendor, Hosea King with a huge handlebar mustache, and shilling “Veterans for Trump” t-shirts, says he was homeless six weeks ago, but since he has been selling Trump gear has $5,000 in the bank. While saying so, he proudly motioned to the shaved area around his mustache singing “razor-blades!” When I asked him what he planned to do for work after their were no more Trump rallies, he said he hoped to take up photography.
Lastly, a vendor, who goes by “Uncle Ready” sporting a straw hat, steam-punk glasses and a thin handlebar mustache showed me a Trump baseball shirt with a “16” on the back. He said, “I hope the sixteen is for his inaugural year, not his IQ.” When I asked if this was satire, he said he had recently been fired from a previous job, and, “I don’t so much support Trump, as he supports me by letting me sell this merchandise.”
I wrote this blog entry to make what I’ve seen real to the world. It doesn’t get much worse than the bullying and sexism Monica Lewinsky endured, and still endures to this day. But, to have seen this and said nothing would’ve been far worse than bringing this denigrating part of the Trump experience to the attention of the internet… As uncomfortable as that may be.