Donald Trump’s taken heat during his presidential run for launching openly sexist attacks against journalists (e.g., calling Megyn Kelly a “bimbo”), defending past remarks calling women “dogs” and “disgusting animals,” and insisting that women have an easier path through life than men.
But that’s just the beginning of Donald Trump’s decades of following through of his own advice on women: “you have to treat ’em like shit” — and he’s been particularly outspoken on his apparent view that mothers should stay out of the workplace, at least where he’s in charge.
By the way, Trump’s running mate is no slouch in the misogyny department, either. Mike Pence once forcefully assorted with all the authority of a non-expert with no idea what he’s talking about that “day-care kids get the short end of the emotional stick” and suggested that working mothers’ induce “stunted emotional growth” among their children.
Here’s a taste of Donald Trump’s offensive, insulting rhetoric and actions that can only be interpreted as misogynous :
- Trump’s said he thinks a working wife is a “very dangerous thing.”
- Trump’s warned he “go[es] through the roof,” if he gets home and dinner isn’t ready.
- Trump publicly attacked an attorney as “disgusting” for pumping breast milk to feed her child.
- Trump said a “pregnancy…is certainly an inconvenience…for a person that is running a business,” even if it’s “a wonderful thing for the woman.”
- Trump’s lamented that “women get it better” than men.
- Trump said “maybe [recent mothers] should feel” pressured to return to work quickly after a pregnancy.
- Trump’s insisted that “it really doesn’t matter what [the media] write as long as “you’ve got a young and beautiful piece of ass.”
- Trump’s insulted women by calling them “bimbos,” “dogs,” and “fat pigs,” “slobs,” and “disgusting animals.”
- Trump effectively blamed sexual assaults in the military on the women.
- Trump’s advised a friend that “you have to treat [women] like shit.”
- Trump and his campaign publicly defamed a woman journalist and accused her of lying after she was assaulted by his campaign manager.
- Trump once called a former Miss Universe winner “Miss Piggy” and an “eating machine” because she gained weight after the competition; even worse, he made her publicly work out in front of “dozens of media outlets.”
- Trump’s continues to employ a lawyer who claimed that “by definition the very definition, you can’t rape your spouse.”
Background:
Trump’s Policies Are Bad For Women
Trump’s policy positions are dangerous for women:
– Trump refused to back equal pay legislation and suggested that women would be paid equally if their work was the same as a man’s work. In 2011, Trump said that it was fair if employers paid mothers less than their male colleagues because “she’s not giving 100 percent.”
– Trump paid his female campaign staffers one-third less than male staffers.
– As of May 2016, Trump had yet to propose a plan related to paid family leave. In addition, Trump’s statements on the matter indicated that he believed that paid family leave threatened the “competitiveness” of businesses and that pregnancy was an “inconvenience” to employers.
– Trump bragged that he paid childcare “all over” to his employees and that “I get great people because of it;” in reality, the only childcare programs Trump offered were for his resort members and guests—not employees.
– The New York Times reported that Trump’s proposal to offer a tax deduction for a childcare expenses would “provide no advantage for the 45 percent of people paying no tax and provide the biggest advantages to people in high-income tax brackets.”
Trump Opposed Equal Pay Legislation
2011: Trump Suggested Mothers Did Not Deserve To Be Paid As Much As Men
2011: When Asked About Paying Mothers Less Than Men In The Same Jobs, Trump Said: “An Employer Could Say She’s Not Giving 100 Percent, She’s Giving Me 84 Percent, And 16 Percent Is Going Towards Taking Care Of Children. So Maybe You Can Understand The Employer’s Point Of View.” According to The Huffington Post, “The gender imbalance in Trump’s campaign is hardly surprising, given some of the comments he’s made in the past about women in the workplace. When MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski asked Trump in 2011 whether it’s fair to pay women who are mothers less than men in the same role, Trump essentially said yes. ‘An employer could say she’s not giving 100 percent, she’s giving me 84 percent, and 16 percent is going towards taking care of children,’ Trump said. ‘So maybe you can also understand the employer’s point of view.’” [Huffington Post, 5/25/16]
2015: Trump Claimed Equal Pay Was Women’s Fight, Not A Government Responsibility
NYT, 2015: Trump Claimed The Equal Pay Fight Needs To Come From Women, Not The Government. According to the New York Times, “What will you do to make sure women are paid equally to men? Mr. Trump praised his daughter: ‘Women really respect Ivanka,’ he said. ‘Government should not be involved’, he added, and ‘women need to fight for their pay.’” [New York Times, 11/19/15]
[Video] Asked About His Position On Equal Pay Trump Said “It’s Too Early In The Morning To Ask That Question.” [“Morning Joe,” MSNBC, 8/20/15; 150820_MM_76010_A]
2015: Trump Loves “Concept” Of Equal Pay For Women But Would Not Back Legislative Efforts. According to CNN, “Trump insisted that he would be the best president for women, touting the number of women executives in his company’s top positions — women he said he pays as much as men in similar posts. But while Trump said he loves the ‘concept’ of equal pay, he would not back efforts to require equal pay through legislation. ‘I’m looking into it very strongly and I’ll have a position on it in the not too distant future,’ Trump said. ‘One of the problems you have is you get to have an economy where it’s no longer a free enterprise economy.’” [CNN, 8/11/15]
Trump Paid His Female Campaign Staffers Less Than Men
Trump Campaign Paid Male Staffers One-Third More Than Female Staffers And Had Only 9 Percent Minority Staffers. According to The Boston Globe, “Donald Trump has paid men on his campaign staff one-third more than women, while Hillary Clinton has compensated men and women equally, according to a Globe analysis of payroll data for both campaigns. Trump’s campaign staff is also far less diverse than that of his likely Democratic opponent. Only about 9 percent of his team are minorities, compared with nearly a third of Clinton’s staff.” [Boston Globe, 6/4/16]
Trump’s Childcare Plan Ignored Low, Middle-Class Income Families
Trump’s Proposal For Childcare Ignored The 45 Percent Of People Who Paid No Income Taxes
New York Times: Trump’s Proposal To Make Child Care Tax Deductible Would “Provide No Advantage For The 45 Percent Of People Paying No Tax And Provide The Biggest Advantages To People In High-Income Tax Brackets.” According to New York Times, “Mr. Trump also wants to make child care tax-deductible. If the policy were implemented as a typical deduction, it would provide no advantage for the 45 percent of people paying no tax and provide the biggest advantages to people in high-income tax brackets. His campaign has indicated that the Trump administration would find ways to make its advantages shared more broadly, though staffers had no details.” [New York Times, 8/12/16]
Michael Strain, Economist At American Enterprise Institute: Under Trump’s Proposal For Child Care, “The Benefits Of This Policy Will Not Accrue To The People Who Need The Most Help.” According to Washington Post, “In a speech on economic policy in Detroit Monday, Donald Trump put forward a new idea for helping American families pay for child care: Allow taxpayers to deduct child-care expenses from their incomes. Under Trump’s proposal, families with children would save money when paying their taxes, and the government would essentially pay part of the cost of looking after their kids. Experts on child care are skeptical, though. The cost of the plan for the government could be exorbitant, and it is not clear how the policy would help poor and middle-class families. More affluent families would likely save the most money under the plan. ‘I’m most concerned about a single mother who doesn’t earn a lot of money and who has a couple of kids at home,’ said Michael Strain, an economist at the conservative American Enterprise Institute. ‘The benefits of this policy will not accrue to the people who most need help.’” [Washington Post, 8/8/16]
Trump’s Proposal Favored Higher Income Earners, Ignore Middle, Lower Class
The Daily Beast HEADLINE: “Trump’s Childcare Plan Would Only Help Little Rich Kids.” [The Daily Beast, 8/9/16]
Wall Street Journal: Trump’s Proposal For A Tax Deduction “Would Seem To Favor Higher-Income Families.” According to Wall Street Journal, “Mr. Trump’s proposal for a tax deduction would seem to favor higher-income families. Many low-wage workers don’t pay federal taxes, in part because they benefit from other policies aimed at helping working parents, including the child- and dependent-care tax credit and the earned-income tax credit. Already, federal tax law allows a filer to receive a credit to help offset up to $3,000 in qualified child-care costs, and up to $6,000 for joint filers. As a credit, parents would receive a tax refund if the amount of the credit exceeds the amount owed in taxes.” [Wall Street Journal, 8/8/16]
California Rep. Brad Sherman, A Former Tax Lawyer: Trump’s Child Care Tax Credit Would “Help the Upper Middle Class.” According to The Daily Beast, “Donald Trump went looking for political gold, and he may have found it in a proposal to make all childcare costs deductible from taxable income. […] ‘It will help the upper middle class,’ declared California Rep. Brad Sherman. A tax lawyer before entering Congress, Sherman, a Democrat, pointed out that three-quarters of taxpayers don’t itemize their deductions and would not benefit from a new deduction. ‘Democrats push for credits that tend to phase out once you hit $150,000 income, and Republicans tend to like deductions,’ which disproportionately benefit those at the upper end of the income scale, he said. What Trump has proposed is a far cry from underwriting universal quality childcare, which is what Ivanka Trump promised her father would do in her convention speech last month.” [Daily Beast, 8/9/16]
Trump Bragged About His Childcare Programs, But Did Not Offer Them For His Employees
Trump’s Claim Of Childcare For Employees Was Actually Only Available To Guests And Members Of Trump’s Resorts
Trump Claimed That He Provided Childcare “All Over” To His Employees And That “I Get Great People Because Of It.” According to The Associated Press, “The billionaire real estate mogul, who previously voiced his opposition to government-funded universal pre-K programs, said in Newton, Iowa, in November 2015 that he had visited many companies that offered workers on-site child-care centers — and added that he offered such programs himself. ‘You know, it’s not expensive for a company to do it. You need one person or two people, and you need some blocks, and you need some swings and some toys,’ Trump said. ‘It’s not an expensive thing, and I do it all over. And I get great people because of it. Because it’s a problem with a lot of other companies.’” [Associated Press, 8/11/16
Associated Press: Trump Frequently Talked About His On Sight Child Care Programs For His Employees, But The Program Is Not For Employees—It Is For Guests And Members Of Trump’s Resorts. According to The Associated Press, “But the two programs Trump cited — ‘Trump Kids’ and ‘Trumpeteers’ — are programs catering to patrons of Trump’s hotels and golf club. They are not for Trump’s employees, according to staff at Trump’s hotels and clubs across the country. ‘Trump Kids’ is described on the Trump Hotel Collection website as ‘a special travel program designed to help make your next family vacation a big hit.’ Its offerings include ‘kid-friendly amenities like kiddie cocktails, coloring books and no-tear bath amenities.’” [Associated Press, 8/11/16]
Trump Did Not Seem To Believe In The Value Of Paid Family Leave
Trump Did Not Speak On Paid Family Leave, Suggested It Could Threaten Our Country’s Competitiveness
May 2016: Trump Had yet Release Any Official Policy Plan On Paid Family Leave And Rarely Spoke Of Women’s Issues On The Campaign Trail. According to NBC News, “Trump rarely speaks on the campaign trail about women in the workplace or related policy issues, such as paid family leave. And he has yet to release any official policy plans on the matter.” [NBC News, 5/26/16]
October 2015: Trump Said “You Have to Be Careful With Paid Family Leave” Because It Could Impact Keeping “Our Country Very Competitive.” According to NBC News, “However in October of 2015, as a candidate, Trump told Fox Business’ Stuart Varney, ‘you have to be careful with’ paid family leave because it could impact keeping ‘our country very competitive’ but ‘certainly there are a lot of people discussing it.’” [NBC News, 5/26/16]
2004: Trump Said Pregnancy Was An “Inconvienance” To Employers
Trump: The Fact Is That Pregnancy “Is An Inconvenience For A Person That Is Running A Business.” According to NBC News, “In an October 2004 interview with NBC’s Dateline, Trump said pregnancy is ‘a wonderful thing for the woman, it’s a wonderful thing for the husband, it’s certainly an inconvenience for a business. And whether people want to say that or not, the fact is it is an inconvenience for a person that is running a business.’” [NBC News, 5/26/16]
Trump Suggested Women Employees Should Feel Pressure To Quickly Return To Their Jobs After Pregnancy
When Asked If His Female Employee Should Feel Pressure To Quickly Return To Her Job After Pregnancy In Order To Keep Her Job, Trump Responded, “Maybe She Should Feel That Way A Little Bit.” According to NBC News, “That interview, called ‘Blonde Ambition,’ highlighted then-Trump Golf Properties Executive Vice President and Apprentice boardroom mainstay Carolyn Kepcher and focused on all things Carolyn – her book, her career, and her advice for female executives. Trump, her boss at the time, was interviewed in that capacity. […] Kepcher took three weeks off after giving birth and then came back part time after that, a decision she told Dateline she was ‘comfortable’ with — and one Trump says he didn’t think was because she felt pressured by him. When asked then if he thought she felt pressure to come back so quickly, Trump said he didn’t think so but was because ‘she loves her job.’ When asked if her fast return may have been based in a worry that she’d be replaced, Trump responded ‘no’ before adding that ‘it’s an interesting premise’ and ‘maybe she should feel that way a little bit. But the fact is that would not have happened.’” [NBC News, 5/26/16]
Former Trump Employees Claimed There Was No Paid Maternity Leave
Former Trump University Employee Alleged That She Was Fired After Becoming Pregnant
A Trump University Employee, Liliana Hernandez-Corniel, Claimed She Was Fired At Six Months Pregnant And Was Forced To Go On Unemployment. According to The Daily Beast, “Instead of being surprised with a baby shower, Liliana Hernandez-Corniel said when she was six months pregnant, her boss at Trump University called her into his office and fired her. ‘If anything I would have liked to be given the heads-up. I just came in like I usually did and was fired after lunch. ‘It was quite a blow,’ Hernandez-Corniel said. ‘It’s not like I could apply for a new job anywhere else. I handed in my ID and keys and went home. The only thing I could do was file for unemployment.’” [Daily Beast, 8/15/16]
Hernandez-Corniel Claimed She Informed Her Boss At Trump University She Was Pregnant Months Before She Was Fired, And That She Was Afraid To Ask About Maternity Leave. According to The Daily Beast, “As for maternity leave, Hernandez-Corniel says no one mentioned it to her. ‘I told them at four months. No one said anything about their maternity leave policy and I was afraid to ask, which is crazy.’” [Daily Beast, 8/15/16]
Al Kare A Waiter A Taj Mahal Casino Claimed That His Wife Received Only Unpaid Maternity Leave From Trump
Al Kare, A Waiter At Taj Mahal Casino, Claimed His Wife Got Maternity Leave From Trump’s Casino, But That It Was Not Paid. According to The Daily Beast, “Al Kare, a waiter for the past 20 years at the Taj Mahal casino—which Trump has not owned since 2009—said his wife did receive time off after the birth of her children. But ‘it wasn’t paid,’ Kare said. ‘Bernie [Sanders] wanted paid maternity leave. That’s why I was a Bernie guy.’” [Daily Beast, 8/15/16]
Published: Sep 13, 2016