A cadre of former Trump haters was recently asked about the president’s past sins, which include allegations of sexual improprieties, one-night stands and/or affairs with women. To this House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi replied (parentheses mine):
“I do not believe that it is my place to question the accounts put forth by the women, but I do find myself asking that if we are examining (his) industry (building & entertainment) as it existed decades before through the lens of 2018, should we also discuss a path to learning, reconciliation and forgiveness?”
Rep. Maxine Waters chimed in:
“To reach a point where we can accept some space between zero accountability and complete destruction, we must first grapple with the issue of equivalency. If we paint episodes of vulgar and deeply regrettable behavior from (a decade or more) ago with the same brush as serial criminal behavior, we will never move forward and, more importantly, we eschew the complicated nuances of context for the easier path of absolutes.”
“The View’s” Joy Behar summed things up:
“Outrage is a valuable commodity … but its usefulness can be diminished by overuse. And understanding and learning from the past is the only way towards a future that reflects real change.”
These calls for civility, forgiveness and understanding for a man accused of sexual harassment over a decade ago, but who has been a champion of women, promoting them in a field that had previously barred them from holding positions of power and influence, unfortunately were not made in reference to Trump.
No! All of the above was in a statement from CBS Films President Terry Press in defense of CBS Corporation chairman and CEO Les Moonves who was accused of sexual misconduct by six women. It followed even more forceful statements of support by CBS executives, ad sales chief Jo Ann Ross and head of daytime Angelica McDaniel.
This was not unlike the statements of support from females in Congress and other positions of influence for Bill Clinton after he was impeached for charges related to his sexual involvement with an intern, no less, in the hallowed Oval Office.
Clinton was viewed by his supporters as just too valuable to the country, in general, and the women’s movement, in particular, to be hoisted on his own petard.
Isn’t it a shame that our current president, who has done so much to turn this country around, while taking no salary for his work as the nation’s chief executive, isn’t given the same consideration? After all, the charges against him are at least a decade or more old and don’t involve the workplace.
Men like Moonves, post-Clinton, probably will not survive. Some shouldn’t. However, to allow Moonves to be forgiven would, indeed, be viewed as a double standard for those who hate Trump so much that they now believe any past sexual sins should disqualify him from holding the highest office in the land. They want Trump impeached so badly many seem willing to believe any charge, no matter how spurious, how ludicrous or how old, just to justify their claim against the president’s legitimacy.
Trump, like Moonves, is from another era, where men often measured their manhood against their ability to seduce women. Even if they had no intention of doing anything improper, they were often guilty of bragging about this ability to other men. Some of these men actually viewed making suggestive remarks or flirting as a way to give a woman a compliment. I’ve encountered my share. Smart women either changed jobs, ignored these clumsy advances or found a way to let a man know this was not acceptable while letting him keep his dignity.
However, none of the women who claim Trump had affairs with them or one-night stands or gave them unwanted attention were his employees as was the case with Moonves. In fact, many sought his attention.
Trump is well-known for promoting women in his industry, like Louise Sunshine who rose to executive vice president of the Trump organization. Sunshine worked for Trump for 15 years and has admitted that he often chided her about her appearance. However, she wasn’t offended. She said, “It was a reminder that I wasn’t perfect. … It was just his way.”
They and the others who were promoted by Trump defend him to the hilt and forgave him for his imperfections. Isn’t it time the rest of the country took a deep breath and did the same?
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