Tag: pageant

The Choice is Clear: Hillary Will Fight For Women While Trump Belittles and Bullies Them

hillary-logo-jpg-crop-thumbnail-small

Hillary Clinton has been breaking new  ground and fighting for women her entire career. Before she made history becoming the first female nominee of a major party for president, Hillary led the U.S delegation to the U.N Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, where she proclaimed that “women’s rights are human rights.” As a senator from New York, she championed the Paycheck Fairness Act to help close the pay gap between women and men.

As President, Hillary will build on her record of fighting for women because although there has been tremendous strides when it comes to expanding opportunities for women there’s still much more work to be done. Donald Trump, however, has a very different record — he has spent his life, and this campaign, demeaning women.

Throughout this campaign, we’ve seen many examples of Trump’s alarming words and deeds towards women like his revolting comments on a bus caught on tape, his repeated behavior insulting and degrading women who stood up to him, his bragging about walking in on nude pageant contestants, some of whom were apparently under aged, his jokes objectifying women, and more.

It’s clear Trump’s dangerous proposals would take us backwards.  Over the course of the campaign, we’ve watched Trump dismiss women in the workplace and say that women who choose to have abortions should be “punished.”

Trump’s policies on women and dangerous rhetoric  have demonstrated he is unfit to be President of the United States. With one week left of the presidential campaign, here is a recap of  Trump’s history of belittling and bullying women:

MISOGYNISTIC AND OFFENSIVE RHETORIC

Trump has talked disparagingly about women — calling them pigs and rating their bodies on a 1 to 10 scale.  From his revolting nicknames to his lewd comments, Trump’s rhetoric about women is inexcusable.

  • Trump: referred to a pageant contestant as “Miss Piggy” and “Miss Housekeeping,” and then doubled down years later saying “she gained a massive amount of weight.”
  • Trump on Carly Fiorina: “Look at that face! … Would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next president?!”
  • Trump: “A person who is flat-chested is very hard to be a 10,” he told Howard Stern.
  • Trump: “But whenever she sees me, she kisses my ass. She’s disgusting.”
  • Trump: “There’s a lot of women out there that demand that the husband act like the wife.”
  • Trump: “And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.”
  • Trump: “[I]t doesn’t really matter what [the media] write as long as you’ve got a young and beautiful piece of ass
  • Trump: It is “rare” that women are both “very beautiful” and have high IQs
  • Trump: “Did you see that woman? She had an amazing body, but a schoolmarm’s face”
  • Trump on women:  “You have to treat ‘em like shit.’”
  • Trump on Hillary Clinton: “Do you think she looks presidential? I don’t think so”

WRONG ON WOMEN IN THE WORKPLACE

Donald Trump has a long history of demeaning women in the workplace and has said that “putting a wife to work is a very dangerous thing” – so it’s no surprise that he has a bad record when it comes to hiring women and supporting equal pay.

  • Trump’s campaign staff was 75 percent men.
  • Trump’s campaign paid women less than men.
  • When Trump was asked why his campaign paid women less than men, he replied that in his business salaries were based on “talent.”
  • Trump’s public companies have had very few women in senior roles: only 6 of 59 of Trump’s casino executives were women.
  • Trump to a young women asking about equal pay: “You’re going to make the same if you do as good a job”
  • Trump on what employing mothers can mean for a business: “She’s not giving one hundred percent, she’s giving me eighty-four percent”
  • Trump said pregnancy was an “inconvenience” for employers
  • Trump called a working mother “disgusting” for requesting a break to go pump breast milk
  • Trump claimed to offer childcare for his employees, but it was actually a program for resort guests

WRONG ON REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM

Donald Trump opposes basic reproductive rights and even said he believes women should be subject to “punishment” for having an abortion.

  • Trump on whether women should be punished for having abortions: “There has to be some form of punishment”
  • Trump would appoint Supreme Court justices who would overturn Roe v. Wade “automatically” if he’s elected
  • Trump called for shutting down the government to defund Planned Parenthood
  • Trump called requiring contraceptive coverage in the Affordable Care Act “very bad.”

MINIMIZING PROBLEM OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT

Trump’s preferred way of talking about women appears to extend into the Trump Organization as well, spurring a raft of discrimination and harassment lawsuits against Trump and his companies.

  • At least 20 lawsuits accused Trump and his companies of discriminating against women, ignoring sexual harassment or participating in harassment
  • Two former Trump employees allege they were fired after complaining about harassment at work
  • One former Trump employee says she was fired for complainingabout discrimination after she became pregnant
  • Trump suggested women who were sexually harassed should find another job
  • On sexual assault in the military, Trump said “what did these geniuses expect when they put men and women together”

UNDER FIRE FOR SEXUAL MISCONDUCT

Trump has bragged about sexually assaulting women and suggests that his determination of whether or not a woman is worth assaulting is based on their attractiveness.

  • Trump bragged about sexually assaulting women
  • Trump claimed to be the victim but multiple women say Trump’s words match his behavior
  • Twelve women have publicly accused Trump of sexual assault
  • Trump said the sexual assault described on tape was just “locker room talk“
  • Trump lashed out at women accusing him of sexual assault and said his accusers were not attractive enough to assault
  • Trump said his accusers were “sick” and coming forward for fame or money
  • Trump promised to sue his accusers

For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Also, be sure to subscribe to the campaign’s official Podcast, With Her.

Memo: Trump Unfit To Be Commander In Chief

Hillary_for_America_2016_logo.svg

Today, Jake Sullivan, Hillary for America Senior Policy Advisor, released the following memo outlining the campaign’s arguments as to why they believe Donald Trump is unfit to be president. The full release and video are below.

To: Interested Parties
From: Jake Sullivan, Hillary For America Senior Policy Adviser
Re: Trump Unfit To Be Commander In Chief
Date: Monday, August 15, 2016

This is not a normal election. Simply put, Donald Trump is unfit to be our commander in chief. This isn’t overcranked campaign rhetoric – national security experts across the political spectrum are issuing the same warning.

Trump is erratic. He’s thin-skinned. He’s vindictive. He praises dictators and displays a strange affinity for Putin. He trash talks America and threatens to abandon our allies. He uses dangerous rhetoric and proposes dangerous policies that play into the hands of terrorists. He talks casually about nuclear weapons. He knows nothing about foreign policy and he has no interest in learning.

Last week, we got yet another clear and alarming reminder of his lack of fitness for the job.  Reading off the talking points of Vladimir Putin and our other adversaries, Trump falsely claimed that Barack Obama founded ISIS. The world noticed. Just days later, the leader of Hezbollah – a terrorist organization that seeks Israel’s destruction – approvingly quoted Trump’s comments.

Hillary Clinton is uniquely qualified and prepared to assume the role of commander in chief. And Donald Trump is uniquely unqualified. She has serious plans to make our country more secure, and a record of leadership to back it up. He has neither. She is proud to call herself an American and of her work as a public servant. He calls America a third-world country.

The choice is clear. It’s not a choice between a Democrat and a Republican, but between a responsible leader who will keep us safe, and a volatile man who threatens our security.

Background:

Arrogance And Ignorance: A Dangerous Combination

When it comes to foreign policy – just like everything else – Donald Trump is convinced he knows more than anyone in the room. Asked who he consults to help shape his views, Trump explained that he mostly just relies on himself because he has “a very good brain.” His lack of interest in learning from others is reflected in his lack of knowledge of basic facts on foreign affairs:

  • Donald Trump on who he speaks to on foreign policy: “I’m speaking with myself, number one, because I have a very good brain and I’ve said a lot of things.”
  • Donald Trump on foreign policy experts: “Honestly, most of them are no good.”
  • Donald Trump: “I know more about ISIS than the generals do. Believe me.”
  • USA Today: Trump attributes Russia knowledge to hosting Miss Universe pageant there
  • Boston Globe Editorial: “Not only did Trump not know the basics of the US nuclear triad (the Pentagon’s land, sea, and air contingent of nuclear forces)…”
  • Washington Post: Trump’s top example of foreign experience: A Scottish golf course losing millions
  • Weekly Standard: Trump Confuses Iran’s Quds Forces and Kurds Fighting ISIS

Proposals Trump Has Made Would Make Us Less Safe

Donald Trump has offered a lot of rhetoric but very few actual proposals. The few plans he has put forth – like his Muslim ban – are out of step with our values and our common sense. From suggesting we should abandon our allies to calling for bringing back torture, Trump’s policies would make us less safe. Some align with Vladimir Putin’s interests and not with American interests; others play into ISIS’ hands:

  • Donald Trump: Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on.
  • Donald Trump: “It’s really rather amazing, maybe Syria should be a free zone for ISIS, let them fight and then you pick up the remnants.”
  • Vox: Donald Trump: make America great again by letting more countries have nukes
  • Donald Trump: “We don’t really need NATO in its current form. NATO is obsolete… if we have to walk, we walk.”
  • BBC: Trump says US may abandon automatic protections for NATO countries
  • Politico: Trump calls Geneva Conventions ‘the problem’
  • Donald Trump: “The other thing with the terrorists is you have to take out their families”
  • Donald Trump: “Don’t tell me it doesn’t work — torture works… Waterboarding is fine, but it’s not nearly tough enough, ok?”
  • Donald Trump: “The case could be made, that let [Japan] protect themselves against North Korea. They’d probably wipe them out pretty quick….Good luck, folks, enjoy yourself. If they fight, that would be terrible, right? But if they do, they do.
  • AP: Donald Trump encourages Russian hackers to spy on Hillary Clinton
  • Politico: Trump changed views on Ukraine after hiring Manafort
  • New York Times: “It is not clear that Mr. Manafort’s work in Ukraine ended with his work with Mr. Trump’s campaign. A communications aide for Mr. Lyovochkin, who financed Mr. Manafort’s work, declined to say whether he was still on retainer or how much he had been paid.”
  • Mother Jones: Is Donald Trump’s Campaign Manager Still on the Payroll of a Ukrainian Political Leader?
  • New York Times: “Handwritten ledgers show $12.7 million in undisclosed cash payments designated for Mr. Manafort from Mr. Yanukovych’s pro-Russian political party from 2007 to 2012, according to Ukraine’s newly formed National Anti-Corruption Bureau. Investigators assert that the disbursements were part of an illegal off-the-books system whose recipients also included election officials.”
  • New York Times: “A separate deal also funneled Russian-linked oligarchic money into Ukraine… Mr. Deripaska agreed to pay a 2 percent annual management fee to Mr. Manafort and his partners, and put $100 million into the fund…”

Dangerous Rhetoric: Trump Praises Dictators, Bashes America And Our Leaders, Stokes Islamophobia

The Trump *candidacy* alone is undermining our national security.  He is the nominee representing one of America’s two major political parties.  His words matter.  Whether he’s praising dictators, channeling the talking points of our enemies, attacking American leaders and those who have sacrificed the most for our country, or stoking Islamophobia, those words are doing harm to our friends and emboldening our adversaries:

  • Donald Trump: “You’ve got to give [Kim Jong Un] credit. How many young guys — he was like 26 or 25 when his father died — take over these tough generals…. It’s incredible. He wiped out the uncle. He wiped out this one, that one.”
  • NBC News: Trump Calls Tiananmen Square Protests a ‘Riot,’ Defends Calling Crackdown ‘Strong’
  • Donald Trump: “I will tell you in terms of leadership [Putin] is getting an ‘A,’ and our president is not doing so well.”
  • Washington Post: Donald Trump praises Saddam Hussein for killing terrorists ‘so good’
  • Huffington Post: Trump Once Praised Tyrants For Not Being Politically Correct
  • Washington Post: The 100-plus times Donald Trump assured us that America is a laughingstock
  • New York Times: Donald Trump Calls Obama ‘Founder of ISIS’ and Says It Honors Him
  • ABC News: Hezbollah Leader Echoes Trump That Obama, Clinton Founded ISIS
  • Donald Trump: “[John McCain’s] not a war hero. He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured, ok? I hate to tell you.”
  • BuzzFeed: Trump: I Don’t Regret McCain Comments, My Poll Numbers Went Up
  • Donald Trump on our generals: “Well, they don’t know much, because they’re not winning.”
  • Washington Post: Donald Trump says he ‘always wanted to get the Purple Heart’
  • Reuters: Trump’s Anti-Muslim Rhetoric Is Fueling More Islamophobic Incidents

Independent and Republican Experts Agree: Trump Is Uniquely Dangerous

When all of this is taken together, it paints a striking picture: Donald Trump isn’t a normal presidential nominee. He is a uniquely dangerous candidate. The result? Foreign policy experts across the board – from lifelong Republicans to apolitical national security officials – are speaking out to say they cannot accept the prospect of a Trump presidency:

  • New York Times (8/8/16): 50 G.O.P. Officials Warn Donald Trump Would Put Nation’s Security ‘at Risk’: “He does not encourage conflicting views. He lacks self-control and acts impetuously. He cannot tolerate personal criticism. He has alarmed our closest allies with his erratic behavior. All of these are dangerous qualities in an individual who aspires to be president and commander in chief, with command of the U.S. nuclear arsenal.”
  • Washington Post (8/8/16): Former GOP national security officials: Trump would be ‘most reckless’ American president in history
  • Washington Post (8/4/16): Republicans are among a new list of foreign policy experts denouncing Trump: “We find Trump’s comments to be reckless, dangerous, and extremely unwise.  They contradict a core, bipartisan principle found in every U.S. administration — that our security in North America is indivisible with our democratic allies in Europe.”
  • Washington Post (3/3/16): Trump is ‘fundamentally dishonest,’ say GOP national security leaders in open letter: “[Trump’s] vision of American influence and power in the world is wildly inconsistent and unmoored in principle. He swings from isolationism to military adventurism within the space of one sentence.”
  • Former Acting CIA Director Mike Morell: In sharp contrast to Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Trump has no experience on national security. Even more important, the character traits he has exhibited during the primary season suggest he would be a poor, even dangerous, commander in chief…. In the intelligence business, we would say that Mr. Putin had recruited Mr. Trump as an unwitting agent of the Russian Federation.”
  • GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger: “I’m an American before I’m a Republican. I’m saying for me personally, how can I support that? Because he’s crossed so many red lines that a commander in chief or a candidate for commander in chief should never cross.”
  • GOP Rep. Richard Hanna: “[Trump’s] unhinged. It’s difficult to imagine why anyone could support him. He comes across as a demagogue. He comes across as a guy who, frankly, Putin has made a fool of.”
  • ABC News: Gen. John Allen Says Donald Trump Could Cause ‘Civil Military Crisis’: “What we do have to do, George, is listen to what he’s been saying about our military,” Allen said. “He’s called it a disaster. He says our military can’t win anymore. That’s a direct insult to every single man and woman who’s wearing the uniform today.”
  • Defense One: Former Bush Officials — Negroponte and Donley — Endorse Clinton. Former Air Force Secretary Michael Donley: “Her deep experience in public service, even temperament, willingness to listen to others and unifying message stands in stark contrast with Donald Trump, who has sown divisiveness at home, confused our allies abroad and shown repeatedly that he lacks the temperament, judgment, character and common decency the American people deserve and should expect in their leadership.”
  • PoliticsUSA: Former Reagan/Bush Ambassador Calls Trump Incompetent As Republicans Flock To Clinton: “The Republican nominee for President has no government experience and has done nothing in his career to demonstrate that he is competent to be President. He has made repeated misstatements and inaccurate statements. He has insulted minorities, women, a war hero and Gold Star parents. He is unqualified and unfit to be President.”
  • Republican foreign policy expert Max Boot: “Trump is an ignorant demagogue who traffics in racist and misogynistic slurs and crazy conspiracy theories. He champions protectionism and isolationism — the policies that brought us the Great Depression and World War II.”

For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Also, be sure to subscribe to the campaign’s official Podcast, With Her.