I try to refrain from getting on any sort of campaign against individuals, but since watching the first 2016 presidential debate I can say I am officially on one now.

Trump has continually shown himself to be a misogynist, he has consistently made grotesque and indecent comments about women and labeled us in discriminate ways. Knowing that women hold the majority of the vote, however, he has recently attempted to mend his image and claimed he “loves women,” but his dialogue in Monday’s presidential debate proved otherwise.

In Monday’s debate, Hilary Clinton brought up the harsh language Trump has used to describe women in the past and specifically former Miss Universe Alicia Machado (at the time of his comments he was running the Miss Universe pageant in 1996). After winning the Miss Universe title, Machado gained weight. Trump reportedly chided her in an attempt to get her to thin down, choosing nicknames in personal conversations like, “Miss Piggy,” and, “Miss Housekeeping.”

In recently released interviews, Machado reports that Trump was continually rude to her and used his power to prey on her self-esteem and get what he wanted. One example: he convinced her to exercise in front of hundred of reporters to prove she was working on weight loss. She now declares this was not her choice and that she felt ashamed and afraid.

In defense of these statements, Trump contacted Fox News on Tuesday. This is what he said:

“She was the winner [of the pageant], and, you know, she gained a massive amount of weight, and it was a real problem[…] We had a real problem.”

Does Trump disrespect women? I do believe so. We have never had to dig very deep to realize it, nor do we now.

If we look back a little further we will discover that his discomfort with the feminine runs deep. In his 1997 book, Trump: The Art of the Comeback, he states:

“Women have one of the great acts of all time… The smart ones act very feminine and needy, but inside they are real killers… I have seen women manipulate men with just a twitch of their eye—or perhaps another body part.”

I don’t know about you, but to me this statement carries several red flags.

If we browse Trump’s tweeting history we find further proof of his disdain for women. Three years ago in 2013, he tweeted:

“26,000 unreported sexual assaults in the military, only 238 convictions. What did these geniuses expect when they put men and women together?” 

When questioned recently in an interview about this tweet, Trump stood by it, saying it was correct. When he was asked by the reporter, “So do you think women should be taken out of the military?” He noticeably hesitated and said slowly, “Well no…But something needs to happen.” What exactly that something is Trump never clarified.

In 2015, Trump tweeted a comment from one of his supporters—

“If Hilary Clinton can’t satisfy her husband what makes her think she can satisfy America?”

—and then tagged @realDonaldTrump#2016president.

Shortly after this he deleted the post, claiming someone else had posted it.

Not surprisingly for the last leg of the presidential debates, he has now hired a female campaign manager who has been vocal about her role to sculpt Trump’s image and “soften” his edges.

Let’s be clear, his hiring a female manager is a strategic move.

Who is the real Trump? We can only decide from the evidence we have been given, but by all evidence Trump marginalizes, labels and discriminates against women. He has proven that he does not treat females well—nor, frankly, other humans in general—so why would he be able to treat a country this way or lead us to any sort of equilibrium?

As long as Trump keeps using stereotypes and isms in his daily vocabulary, he will never promote equality. Instead, he will continue to use people, especially women, to get ahead.

Trump is disrespectful toward anyone who gets in the way of his path to success. He is not a leader, but he is certainly a bully. If he won, we would all become a stepping stone on which he built his empire. I personally do not want to get squashed beneath the trampling foot of a misogynist, campaigning solely for his own good.

We have come too far to choose a President such as Trump. He represents a fractured human and a wounded male. He cannot keep his story straight and feels he must lash out at others in order to gain power.

So people, please, when we cast our vote, let’s not make it for him.

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Author: Sarah Norrad

Image: Twitter

Editor: Toby Israel

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