For Trump, the Rules Don’t Apply
“There is some irony in the fact that I am leaving while a man who has bragged on tape about his history of sexual assault sits in the oval office, and a man who has repeatedly preyed on young girls campaigns for the Senate with the full support of his party.”
These words were part of the statement Senator Al Franken, a Democrat from Minnesota, gave on the Senate floor Thursday, announcing his impending resignation from the Senate after 10 years of service. His announcement comes after an outbreak of sexual misconduct allegations against him, prompting a wave of Democratic senators to call for his resignation on Wednesday. His resignation follows that of Representative John Conyers, another Democratic lawmaker who stepped down days earlier amidst sexual harassment claims. The resignations coincide with Time Magazine’s decision to honor the “Silence Breakers,” a group of women who set in motion the recent revolution surrounding sexual misconduct allegations. The discussion has sparked an upheaval of leadership in politics, business, and entertainment especially, three fields in which President Trump has been prominent for years.
Neither the president nor the Republican party has been immune to this reckoning, but the difference in recent responses is striking. Alleged sexual misconduct is one of the many controversial aspects of Trump’s life that came to national attention during the campaign last year, especially with the release of the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape in which he is heard bragging about it. Last week, he claimed the voice was not his despite plain evidence otherwise, fueling further anger at his apparent disregard for accountability. Trump’s approach to accusations of sexual assault was reinforced by his endorsement of Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore this week. Moore, accused by multiple women of sexual misconduct, has spent the past two months denying any impropriety, delegitimizing his accusers and blaming fake news — and even the Democratic Party — for orchestrating the accusations for political purposes.
This is not a laughing matter. Franken, a popular former comedian and reliable Democrat who has championed women’s rights for years, asked for an investigation by the Ethics Committee into his own conduct, and eventually resigned within one month of the first allegations coming to light. His peers in the Democratic Party, women and men alike, were emphatic in calling for his resignation.
Contrast that with Roy Moore, who in that same time frame has dealt with disturbing allegations but continues to run his Senate campaign in Alabama, and has now received monetary support from the Republican National Committee, signaling party approval. Republicans in Congress had expressed various views on Moore’s campaign, ranging from condemnation — including from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and several prominent senior members — to complete absolution of guilt. Now, with the endorsement from Trump and the RNC, the party’s message is clear: regardless of whether the allegations are true, it would be worse to allow Democratic challenger Doug Jones to win a precious Senate seat. So, days before the election, Moore is rebuilding his lead over Jones, while Trump headed to Florida for a rally last week to stir up enthusiasm for an electoral race which has gripped the nation’s attention for weeks.
If this sequence of events sounds familiar, it is because it almost exactly mirrors Trump’s own sexual misconduct scandal during the presidential race. Accused by more than 15 women, Trump was denounced by numerous Republicans, dropped by the RNC, and appeared to be losing momentum. But he refused to step down as nominee, and since he still appeared capable of winning, the party fell back in line, renewing their endorsements despite the assault claims. Why? Because the alternative was a Democrat winning the presidency. The GOP’s willingness to overlook assault in favor of electoral victory is not only morally troubling, but could also spell disaster in the 2018 elections, as Democrats will look to exploit their moral superiority after expelling members of their own party for similar allegations.
This moment of reckoning is in itself a monumental upheaval of social norms across the country, and should be recognized as a positive transformation in confronting how we approach sexual assault. However, it is also one of a number of controversies which President Trump now claims immunity from. In November, Press Secretary Sarah Sanders revealed, “Like most Americans, the President believes we cannot allow a mere allegation, in this case one from many years ago, to destroy a person’s life.” Taken literally, this statement implies that Trump should not be accountable for the charges of sexual assault, collusion, corruption, racism, fraud, and unethical business dealings which have all been leveled against him at some point over the course of his career.
There is no small irony in the fact that Trump led the birther movement in an attempt to delegitimize Barack Obama, but may himself have benefited from Russian intervention in his own presidential election; or the fact that he criticized large U.S. companies for outsourcing labor, while doing the same with his own businesses; or the fact that he promised to cut taxes for the middle class, while his actual tax plan includes wide tax breaks for the top 5% and would benefit him and his children.
The list goes on, but the message is clear: for Trump and the GOP, the rules of accountability don’t apply.
