US President Donald Trump used his official Twitter handle to call Stormy Daniels a Horseface and got away with it. After the Federal Court threw out Daniel’s defamation lawsuit against Trump, the POTUS couldn’t keep himself from bragging about it on social media. But all the gloating came slathered with a heavy coat of misogyny, something which we all know by now to be Trump’s trademark.
This tweet shows yet again how Trump doesn’t value women and is not above calling them names. But it also shows how little respect the man has for the office he holds. Whatever past US Presidents may have been, they have not been crass. They have at least maintained the dignity of the post they held in their words, if not in actions. But Trump’s presidency has stripped the President’s office of that grace. It makes one wonder, how do people keep supporting a man, who cannot even maintain the verbal dignity of his office?
Misogyny and Trump are inseparable it seems
This isn’t the first time Trump has used derogatory words to refer to a woman’s appearance. For Trump, the be all and end all of a woman is her looks. He weighs their worth on the basis of their physical appearance. According to a CNN report, in 1996, he allegedly referred to Alicia Machado, who had won the Miss Universe pageant, as "Miss Piggy" due to his perception of her being overweight. He has repeatedly commented on appearance of women -- them being overweight, ugly or flat chested -- and Americans have long let it pass.
SOME TAKEAWAYS-
- After the Federal Court threw out Daniel’s defamation lawsuit against Trump, the latter called her a "horseface".
- This tweet shows yet again how Trump doesn’t value women and is not above calling them names.
- It also shows how little respect the man has for the office he holds.
- If people let him get away with such behaviour today, he will further keep using his platform to bully anyone he doesn’t like.
This ignorance shows that Trump’s misogyny doesn’t affect his vote bank much. For many people who still stand by him and are defending him, it is his politics that still matters to them (however outlandish it may sound, but a major chunk of his vote bank advocates his policies). What these people forget is that Trump represents a nation and its people. It doesn’t put the US as a country in good light if the people do not condemn his derogatory remarks. It makes us question the entire nation’s stand on misogyny and objectification of women.
Shockingly, a lot of women have come out to defend this statement by Trump. They argue that this only reflects the President’s opinion of one woman, and not all women. They also believe that Daniels deserves this comment because she is a porn star. She is being called everything from a “whore” to a “money monger” by not just men, but women as well. Just because Daniels is a porn star, does she have no right to be addressed with dignity?
Also, this name calling is sheer abuse of power the platform and his office have bestowed on Trump. This is outright bullying of a woman, because she dared to legally cross him. Trump has won the legal battle at this stage, but this didn’t prevent him from gloating. He is practically threatening that he is not done with Daniels yet. If this doesn’t disturb the US electorate, then I do not know what will. People seriously need to rethink why they are endorsing toxic behaviour in name of political affiliation today. Because what the citizens of US have at hand right now is a man who couldn’t care less. Both about his office and how his statement reflects his views about women.
If people let him get away with such behaviour today, he will further keep using his platform to bully anyone he doesn’t like. Today, he has called a porn star “horseface” openly. Do you think he is going to stop here? Especially, if his remarks go unchecked?
Also Read: Seeing #MeToo Narrative From The Lens Of Marginalized
Yamini Pustake Bhalerao is a writer with the SheThePeople team, in the Opinions section. The views expressed are the author’s own
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