Donald Trump’s campaign is facing allegations from at least 10 women that he sexually assaulted them. The Republican presidential candidate has denied the charges and suggested the women are doing it for “free fame.”
“I don’t know who these people are. … They have no witnesses. There’s nobody around. They just come out — some are doing it, probably, for a little fame. They get some free fame.”
But a new report shows that this isn’t the first time Trump has accused victims of sexual harassment and abuse of lying just to get their 15 minutes of fame.
The Cain Connection
Back in 2011, Trump defended Herman Cain against allegations of sexual harassment in terms similar to those he’s now using to defend himself:
“They probably do love their names splashed across the front pages. And frankly, I think that’s not a good situation and I don’t think it’s a fair situation.”
Trump also suggested that Cain was the victim of some larger systemic injustice – a “witch hunt,” in his words:
“I think it’s a very ugly witch hunt and I think it’s very unfair. You say, ‘Oh, hello, darling, how are you?’ And you get sued because you’ve destroyed somebody’s life. It’s ridiculous. And I think it’s very unfair to him. And unless there’s something that we’re not seeing — meaning you, I, and everybody else — I think it’s a very unfair situation.”
Cain, then a candidate in the Republican presidential primary, was disgraced and soon after left the race.
Unfortunately, Donald Trump has done no such thing. Even as the Trump campaign continues to take on water, Trump has vowed to remain in the race to the bitter end.
Troubling Parallels
But Trump’s callous reaction to charges of sexual assault then and now share other similarities.
For instance, Trump suggested Cain pursue legal action against his accusers in 2011:
“And again, I would tell him to react swiftly and strongly with a major lawsuit against these people, if they say anything that’s even slightly wrong.”
While Trump hasn’t actually sued the women themselves, he did threaten the New York Times with a libel suit unless they retracted a story about two women who said Trump sexually harassed them. In one of the best documents to come out of the election season, the Times refused to retract the article and challenged the premise of Trump’s suit in a pointed open letter.
Another similarity between Trump’s 2011 comments and his response to his own controversy is that in both cases, he claims that the women who have spoken out about his sexual misconduct are part of some larger effort to ruin the accused man. To Trump, Cain was the real victim of the “witch hunt.” And in his own case, Trump believes that an unholy alliance between the media and his political opponents is out to derail his campaign:
“The corrupt media is trying to do everything in their power to stop our movement, believe me. … As you have seen, right now I am being viciously attacked with lies and smears. It’s a phony deal.”
Both Cain and Trump condemned their accusers and did not admit to any wrongdoing (though Cain later acknowledged that one woman received a financial settlement). And despite admitting to “locker room talk,” Trump maintains that he never had any inappropriate contact with any of the women who have come forward.
Cain now speaks as a Trump surrogate. Check out what he had to say earlier this year:
Featured image via YouTube.
