Trump Answers Charges of Sexism With More Sexism
Donald Trump, the Republican presidential frontrunner and not exactly friend of women, was expected to say some confrontational things at the first Republican presidential debate.
But when his machismo went up against Megyn Kelly, the Fox News personality, debate moderator and nonstop voice for women’s issues, he didn’t stand a chance. In fact, Kelly spent most of the debate grilling Jeb Bush, Scott Walker and more candidates with surprisingly tough questions over reproductive rights and beyond.
“You’ve called women you don’t like fat pigs, dogs, slobs and disgusting animals,” Kelly began her question, about as directly as you can.
“Only Rosie O’Donnell,” Trump interrupted with a sneer, earning cheers from the crowd.
Kelly wasn’t having it. Any of it.
“For the record, it was way beyond Rosie O’Donnell,” Kelly said – before launching into a laundry list Trump’s most misogynistic moments:
“Your Twitter account has several disparaging comments about women’s looks. You once told a contestant on the Celebrity Apprentice it would be a pretty picture to see her on her knees. Does that sound to you like the temperament of a man we should elect as president? And how do you answer the charge from Hillary Clinton – that you are part of the war on women?”
Trump, unchastened, responded with a misdirect: “I think the big problem this country has is being politically correct.”
Then he made a veiled threat at Kelly herself.
“What I say is what I say, and honestly, Megyn, if you don’t like it, I’m sorry. I’ve been very nice to you, although I could probably maybe not be based on the way you’ve treated me, but I wouldn’t do that.”
(h/t The Guardian)
Reality
Donald Trump responded to a question about past sexist and misogynist comments and responded with… more sexist and misogynist comments.
To try to gauge how unpresidental that was, try to imagine your favorite president publicly making comments like:
- I just spoke with that fat pig Angela Merkel and we’re going to open up trade talks.
- So I want to thank that dog President Park Geun-hye for our shared commitment to promoting a more peaceful world. I wonder if Huckabee was right and she eats dogs?
Furthermore Trump hid behind political correctness in his attempt to redirect the conversation. See, he’s not an sexist for making those comments, you’re what is wrong with this country for being offended by his sexist comments. There are so many inherit logical flaws with this argument. Just to name a few:
- Red herring fallacy when diverting away from answering sexist charges.
- Straw man fallacy when blaming political correctness.
- Non-apology apology.
- Entitled to an Opinion fallacy.