Sexual predator and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has experienced some of the most detrimental effects on his campaign in the recent weeks due to the maelstrom of audio and video footage that supports the idea that Trump is a misogynistic old fool with an arrogant streak much deeper than his supposedly wealthy pockets. The New York Times published several stories involving the past victims of Trump’s horrific behavior, and less than an hour after those stories went public, a new piece of video footage from 1992 found its way to the spotlight.
The video in question was taken at Trump Tower, the centerpiece of Trump’s empire, which is no more than a monument to his own image. What might have seemed shocking about this video just a few weeks ago is no longer quite as surprising, but that doesn’t make it any less important. The video shows Trump near the base of an escalator in Trump Tower, and he is awaiting a group of children who are about to use the escalator to reach one of the higher levels. Trump makes a comment about one of the young girls that should send chills up the spine of any rational adult.
Trump asks the girl if she is planning to use the escalator, which should have been quite obvious considering the group was there for a tour. Trump then turns to the camera after the girl has started up the escalator and says with a smile that he will be dating the young girl in 10 years. Presumably, Trump only stopped the child and spoke because he found her attractive in some way, and he then felt then need to express those perverted urges by explaining how he would eventually date the young girl when it became appropriate and legal for him to do so.
These statements might seem innocent enough, but they are the foundation of a culture that perpetuates rape and non-consent as if they were simply part of life. Even though the video was shot back in 1992, long before Trump had presidential aspirations, the man was still 46 years old at the time. Ironically enough, one of Trump’s biggest platform points is that he wants to build a wall separating Mexico from the United States, and his reasoning is that ‘Mexicans are rapists and drug-dealers’. Perhaps a wall should be built around Trump Tower to keep his toxic personality and potentially rapist tendencies separate from the sane part of the United States.
While one might hope these sorts of comments are isolated incidents, the truth of the matter is that they are not. Another source recently uncovered the fact that Trump used to enter the dressing rooms of the contestants in several teen beauty pageants while they were still getting dressed. At the time, many of the participants merely internalized their disgust since they knew Trump could easily have them removed from the competition. Trump also went so far as to compare his own infant daughter to her adult mother, and he did so using only their physical characteristics. He even wondered aloud if his daughter would ever have the same breast size as his wife.
Trump also famously commented on how he thought Paris Hilton was incredibly beautiful, however, the hotel heiress was only 12 years old at the time. Perhaps the worst is the way he talks about, treats, and views his daughter Ivanka. He has a long history of making increasingly disturbing comments about Ivanka, and many news outlets report that Ivanka is secretly scared of Trump but refuses to come out against his behavior. For Trump to make these sorts of comments regarding his own children requires a special type of ignorance toward reality.