10 Most Sexist Moments Of The 2016 Election

by Emma Bredthauer

Image via YouTube

If you’re anything like me, you’ve been completely overwhelmed by the three-ring circus of sexist buffoonery that has been Donald J. Trump’s presidential campaign. It’s been a struggle to keep all the instances of Trump’s woman-hate straight in my mind. Time and time again, I longed for a handy-dandy list that would keep it all in order for me. Now that the election is drawing to a close (thank Goddess) I have finally taken it upon myself to fulfill that wish. Here, in all its glory, is a round-up of the most blatantly sexist moments from this year’s election (in chronological order!). I had an overabundance of sordid material to choose from, so if your “favorite” moment didn’t make the cut, I deeply apologize.

1. “Look at that face!”

Trump made this comment back in 2015 about fellow presidential hopeful Carly Fiorina during a meeting with his staffers. The moment was captured by Rolling Stone’s Paul Solotaroff as part of a September 9th profile of the GOP nominee:

“When the anchor throws to Carly Fiorina for her reaction to Trump’s momentum, Trump’s expression sours in schoolboy disgust as the camera bores in on Fiorina. ‘Look at that face!’ he cries. ‘Would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next president?!’ The laughter grows halting and faint behind him. ‘I mean, she’s a woman, and I’m not s’posedta say bad things, but really, folks, come on. Are we serious?’”

Fiorina took Trump to task for his sexism at the GOP presidential debate the following Wednesday, saying “I think women all over this country heard very clearly what Mr. Trump said.”

 

2. Women should be punished for having abortions

Trump dropped this bombshell during a March 30th appearance on MSNBC. It took some prodding by Chris Matthews to get the truth out, but Trump eventually delivered, making it clear that women in Trump’s America (shudder) would be punished for having abortions.

Transcript:

MATTHEWS: Do you believe in punishment for abortion? Yes or no? As a principle?
TRUMP: The answer is that there has to be some form of punishment.
MATTHEWS: For the woman?
TRUMP: Yeah, there has to be some form.

There’s pretty much nothing I can say about this that would further underscore just how horrible it is. I pray in the name of our High Priestess of Reproductive Freedom Cecile Richards that such a dystopian future will never play out.

 

3. “The only card she has is the woman’s card”

Ah, the elusive “woman card” of meninist lore. Trump made this gaffe at an April 26th celebration of his successes in the Republican state primaries.

Transcript:

TRUMP: I think the only card she has is the woman’s card. She’s got nothing else going. And frankly, if Hillary Clinton were a man, I don’t think she’d get five percent of the vote. The only thing she’s got going is the woman’s card. And the beautiful thing is, women don’t like her.”

You sure about that, Trump?

 

4. “Blood coming out of her wherever”

Trump made this comment while answering a question on CNN Tonight about his beef with Megyn Kelly (beef which started when Kelly took him to task during the Republican primary debate on August 6th for, funnily enough, his habit of making degrading comments about women).

TRUMP: She gets out and she starts asking me all sorts of ridiculous questions, and you know, you could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, uh, blood coming out of her…wherever.

Trump’s campaign managers later tried to suggest that the “wherever” Trump was referring to was Kelly’s “nose,” an excuse which convinced literally no one.

BONUS SEXISM: In the wee hours of the morning after the debate, Trump took to Twitter to call Kelly a “bimbo.”

Trump Megyn Kelly Bimbo Tweet

 

5. “I just don’t think she has a presidential look”

Trump made this comment during a conversation with ABC’s David Muir on September 6th.

Transcript:

TRUMP: I just don’t think she has a presidential look and you need a presidential look. You have to get the job done. I think if she went to Mexico she would have had a total failure. We had a big success.
MUIR: When you talk about her not looking presidential, are you talking about aesthetics?
TRUMP: I’m talking about in general.

The Internet swiftly took Trump to task for this one. I think this tweet by Daily Beast writer Marlow Stern sums up the general sentiment of most posts:

Trump Suggests Hill Isnt Up For Prez Tweet

 

 

6. “She doesn’t have the stamina”

During the first presidential debate, moderator Lester Holt asked Trump to address his comment about Hillary’s “look” (see: #1 on this list). Trump took this as an opportunity to reiterate his old stance, as well as bring some new sexism to the table.

Transcript:

LESTER HOLT: Mr. Trump, this year Secretary Clinton became the first woman nominated for president by a major party. Earlier this month you said she doesn’t have quote, “a presidential look.” She’s standing here, right now. What did you mean by that?
TRUMP: She doesn’t have the look, she doesn’t have the stamina. I said she doesn’t have the stamina. And, I don’t believe she does have the stamina. To be president of this country, you need tremendous stamina.

The Twittersphere had plenty to say about this dig, but my favorite response came from Madame Secretary’s herself:

“As soon as he travels to 112 countries and negotiates a peace deal, a cease fire, a release of dissidents, an opening of new opportunities in nations around the world, or even spends 11 hours testifying in front of a congressional committee, he can talk to me about stamina.”

*mic drop*

 

7. The 3AM Twitter Rant

I’ll just let Trump speak for himself here.

3:20 AM

3 AM Twitter Rant Tweet 1

5:14 AM

3 AM Twitter Rant Tweet 2

5:19 AM

3 AM Twitter Rant Tweet 3

5:30 AM

3 AM Twitter Rant Tweet 4

I don’t even know where to begin with this racist and sexist nonsense. All I can muster as a response is the Nick Young meme:

Nick Young Meme

 

8. “Grab ‘em by the pussy”

The #TrumpTapes need no introduction. We were all outraged by Trump’s boasting about sexual assault–and his insistence later that the comments “[were] just locker room banter.”

Gag.

Thankfully, women on Twitter swiftly put Trump in his place by starting the awesome hashtag PussyGrabsBack.

 

9. “Nasty Woman”

As Clinton was explaining her plan to expand Social Security during the final presidential debate on October 19th, she took an extremely mild shot at Trump (“My Social Security payroll contribution will go up, as will Donald’s, assuming he can’t figure out how to get out of it…”). Trump interjected with “What a nasty woman.”

Meanwhile Clinton, undoubtedly reveling in her Nasty Woman Power, waited for Trump’s temper tantrum to pass so she could continue outlining her Social Security Plan.

10. “Rip the baby out of the womb”

Another Trump gaffe from the third presidential debate (I couldn’t choose just one!). In response to Clinton’s stance on late-term partial birth abortions, Trump said, “You can take the baby and rip the baby out of the womb in the ninth month. On the final day. And that’s not acceptable.”
This is ridiculous for a few reasons. First of all, removing a baby from the womb on the final day of pregnancy happens all the time (it’s called a C-section). Second of all, the most common circumstance that prompts someone to seek a late term abortion is due to a high risk of death posed by carrying that pregnancy to term. By vilifying late term abortions, Trump is condemning women for exercising our right to choose what’s best for our own bodies.

Congratulations–you’ve made it to the end of the list! My apologies if you’re feeling enraged or nauseated; those are the most common symptoms of prolonged Trump exposure. Thankfully, there is a cure–and that’s VOTING! So get your pussy to the polls tomorrow and do your part to elect the first woman president.

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