Keith Girard
Donald Trump has always been known as a lady’s man, and faced a sex scandal similar to Harvey Weinstein’s before he was elected President. (Photo: MPG Collage)
Long before the Harvey Weinstein sex scandal broke, the nation was confronted with a choice about another habitual sexual abuser. Yet by the slimmest of margins voters chose Donald Trump for the nation’s highest office.
More than a doze women went public with allegations that Trump engaged in repeated acts of sexual assault and sexual harassment over a 30 year period.
Those allegations were given credence by the now infamous Billy Bush audio tape.
Trump bragged about how celebrity entitlement allowed him to hit on women without repercussions.
“When you’re a star, they let you do it,” he boasted.
“Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything,” he crowed.
Trump also bragged about trying to seduce a married woman… without luck. “I did try and fuck her. She was married,” Trump said. “I moved on her very heavily.”
At the time, Trump was married to current wife Melania Trump, who was pregnant.
The nasty, misogynistic 2005 conversation, recorded on an open mic, failed to derail his election as president, in a major blow to womens’ rights.
Trump denied the allegations and vowed to sue every women who accused him of sexual assault or sexual harassment. To date, no lawsuits have been filed.
Now Weinstein, a major force in Hollywood and liberal politics, is caught up in a similar scandal evolving nearly three dozen women so far. But this time the reaction has been far different.
Weinstein has been ostracized in Hollywood, fired from his job and could be facing criminal prosecution for allegedly assaulting women in New York City.
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The Hollywood mogul narrowly dodged prosecution in 2015 for groping Italian model Ambra Battilana. He was caught in a sting by police who wired Battilana and caught him admitting the crime.
New York City Police say they have reopened its investigation in the wake of the latest allegations.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating Trump for possible collusion with Russia during the election, as well as his business dealings.
It’s unknown whether Mueller is also looking into Trump’s sexual assault allegations or claims that he had forced sex with underage girls at parties hosted by convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, who ran an underage sex ring.
Right wing propaganda sites and Fox News have widely derided the allegations against Trump, but have widely reported on the Weinstein scandal.