White House Chief of Staff John Kelly has reportedly called Donald Trump an “idiot,” a report he denies, but let’s talk about the part of the story Kelly isn’t denying, about his view of women.
The White House spokespeople said they haven't seen Kelly have a negative effect on the morale of women staffers. If anything, they said during meetings Kelly is the "bigger gentleman" who steps in when aides use foul language to note "a lady is present" and similarly says he shouldn't use foul language in front of a lady if he's used an expletive. The spokespeople, who would not speak for the record, said it's possible Kelly may have said women are more emotional than men, with one of them agreeing that "generally speaking, women are more emotional than men.”
Welcome to 1953! Give me a moment—I’m going to have to get ahold of my emotions here. You know, the ladylike emotions like disgust and eyerolling (is eyerolling an emotion?) and fear of “foul language” warring with an intense desire to let loose a blistering stream of profanity.
Maybe the specific women who work in the Trump White House love to be treated like delicate flowers who will wilt at the sound of a naughty word, but setting women apart as unable to fully participate in meetings without being flagged as fragile and in need of protection? That’s hella sexist. Just as when Mike Pence won’t have dinner with a woman without his wife present—in a professional world where lots of business happens over dinner—Kelly is setting women aside and locking them out of full access to power.
And a man who works for a tantrum-prone, whim-driven ball of ego and rage and wounded feelings like Donald Trump thinks women are more emotional than men? Give me a break. Anger is an emotion, too, John. Poutrage—your boss’s specialty—is an emotion.
Sexism might be the least of John Kelly’s problems as a member of a presidential administration—mass deportations spring to mind—but it’s sure not a defense of his leadership.