August 2, 2016

Donald Trump Made Boneheaded Comments About Sexual Harassment. Then His Son Made It Worse.

Just…don’t.

Mary Altaffer/AP

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.


Polling shows Donald Trump trailing far behind Hillary Clinton among female voters—and recent comments by the GOP nominee and his son Eric aren’t likely to help him win over women.

In the wake of Roger Ailes’ ignominious fall from the helm of Fox News over allegations that he sexually harassed multiple women at the network, Trump has faced questions about the scandal and his own views on workplace harassment. Trump’s response has been that the allegations against Ailes (a friend of the GOP nominee) seem overblown. 

In an interview with USA Today published on Monday, Trump was asked how he would feel if his daughter Ivanka were subjected to the kind of harassment that women at Fox allegedly experienced. His response, Powers wrote, was “startling, even by Trumpian standards.” He didn’t call for the harasser to be punished; rather, he said, “I would like to think she would find another career or find another company if that was the case.”

On Tuesday, Trump’s son Eric appeared on CBS This Morning to defend his father’s recent comments but ended up just digging the two in deeper. “I think what he’s saying is, Ivanka is a strong, powerful woman” who wouldn’t “allow herself to be subjected to that,” he said.

He seemed to be suggesting that strong women don’t face sexual harassment in the first place and that women who do experience it are somehow weak. None other than Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly—an alleged victim of Ailes’ unwanted advances—summed up her dismay with Eric Trump’s comments in a one word tweet.  

Neither Trump nor his son seemed to consider the fact that Ivanka may have, in fact, had to navigate the issue of harassment at work. But according to her own book, early in her career Ivanka did worry about catcalling from construction workers and the male-dominated world of real estate. She even tried to change her appearance to ward off harassment.

DECEMBER IS MAKE OR BREAK

A full one-third of our annual fundraising comes in this month alone. That’s risky, because a strong December means our newsroom is on the beat and reporting at full strength—but a weak one means budget cuts and hard choices ahead.

The December 31 deadline is closing in fast. To reach our $400,000 goal, we need readers who’ve never given before to join the ranks of MoJo donors. And we need our steadfast supporters to give again—any amount today.

Managing an independent, nonprofit newsroom is staggeringly hard. There’s no cushion in our budget—no backup revenue, no corporate safety net. We can’t afford to fall short, and we can’t rely on corporations or deep-pocketed interests to fund the fierce, investigative journalism Mother Jones exists to do.

That’s why we need you right now. Please chip in to help close the gap.

DECEMBER IS MAKE OR BREAK

A full one-third of our annual fundraising comes in this month alone. That’s risky, because a strong December means our newsroom is on the beat and reporting at full strength—but a weak one means budget cuts and hard choices ahead.

The December 31 deadline is closing in fast. To reach our $400,000 goal, we need readers who’ve never given before to join the ranks of MoJo donors. And we need our steadfast supporters to give again—any amount today.

Managing an independent, nonprofit newsroom is staggeringly hard. There’s no cushion in our budget—no backup revenue, no corporate safety net. We can’t afford to fall short, and we can’t rely on corporations or deep-pocketed interests to fund the fierce, investigative journalism Mother Jones exists to do.

That’s why we need you right now. Please chip in to help close the gap.

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate