Why this wasn’t a leading, if not THE leading news story yesterday is shameful. Major news outlets should have been shouting about what Trump said to the rafters. That it got little mention is a damning indictment of journalism in America. The facts are there in court documents. Trump’s divorce proceedings from Trophy Wife #1 Ivana. All the women he groped (and worse) who came forward, some of whom testified under oath about his actions. Trump’s own ‘grab em by the pussy’ talk during that appalling Access Hollywood tape. And the E. Jean Carroll case in which he’s been found separately by a judge and by a jury in a second case to be guilty of sexual assault. Only a technicality prevented it from being labeled RAPE. All that, yet Trump’s dismissing domestic violence as way lesser crime was pretty much ignored.
What’s prompted my rant? This opinion piece in The Root. It discusses Trumpty’s claims that crime in DC would be virtually non-existed if those meanie Trump haters didn’t insist on including what he calls lesser crimes like DOMESTIC VIOLENCE in the stats. As you know Trumpty is playing tough guy by deploying National Guard troops in DC despite the fact that only every measure crime was down significantly. Not completely eradicated. NO city or small town can totally wipe out all crime. But DC had made big progress and the tourism and restaurants etc. were thriving. They aren’t anymore. Many establishments are in danger of closing due to lack of customers. It turns out people DON’T want to visit a city, even the best places that seldom see much crime with National Guard stomping around.
Far fewer visitors naturally means less crime, at least in the places Trumpty has been bragging about. There ARE some rough places in DC but the Guard isn’t being sent to them. Instead they are reduced to stuff like picking up trash at tourist places! Trump of course doesn’t want THAT reported either so he’s made up a statistic of crime being down ‘87%’ since his ‘crackdown.’ Then insisted it was unfair to have to use that number because it included ‘lesser crimes like domestic violence!’ WHAT THE HELL?
Again I am both stunned and furious this didn’t blow up into a story that dominated the nation’s news right along with Epstein stuff. Which is sexual abuse that one could argue was in some cases domestic as some of the victims lived at least for a time at Epstein properties or in servant’s quarters at Trump’s. Anyway there are decades of evidence documenting that Trump is a serial abuser, both domestic and sexual.
Sometimes his actions, such as his raping his first wife is an example of both. It’s depressing how this happens all across this (and other) country every day. In their divorce she testified he shouted at her, grabbed her by the hair, hit her and threw her on the bed. Then forced himself on her, screwing her against her will. Yeah, that qualifies as both domestic assault AND rape. Then there’s all the other much better known stuff I mentioned.
It doesn’t help the problem of rampant domestic abuse and sexual assault when our country’s PRESIDENT is someone guilty of this. And worse doesn’t just say it’s no big deal but BRAGS about getting away with it! Now he’s pissy because he can’t claim to have ‘virtually’ wiped out crime in DC. That he ‘only reduced it by 87% because dammit, they have to count what he calls ‘lesser crimes” such as domestic violence in the statistics!
During an event at the Museum of the Bible in D.C. on Monday (Sept. 8), Trump said the nation’s capital is now “the safe-zone city.” He continued, “They said crime is down 87 percent. I said ‘no, no, no, it’s more than 87 percent.’ [It’s] virtually nothing.” According to him, those crime statistics would be even lower if “lesser crimes” like domestic violence weren’t counted.
To Trump slapping a woman around, groping her (I see those pics of Ivanka on his lap and have to wonder) or even raping her are no big deal. It’s what guys, at least white guys (especially if they have a little power) are entitled to do. Did you notice he made his comments at an even at the Museum of the Bible? An awful lot of RWNJ so-called Christians including some major groups try to use certain bible verses to justify the notion that women must “submit” to their men and/or that men have a ‘god-given right’ to do whatever to force them to do so. However even some Evangelical MAGAs are queasy over the Epstein scandal. Especially younger ones.
I think Trump or his team specifically chose this event and venue for him to say what he did. It was a signal to Evangelical Leaders who are seeing themselves and their pronouncements including on women submitting to their men “I’ve got your back.” Tragically that message will resonate and a lot of guys who might have thought maybe dial back some on the abuse think ‘Well, Trump says it doesn’t REALLY count’ and dial it up instead.
Again, I find it astounding this didn’t become a dominant news story. Yes, some print outlets reported it but didn’t hype it. However, as the linked OpEd from The Root notes at least on ‘black twitter’ there’s a reaction. For example:
After seemingly chalking domestic violence up to simply “a man has a little fight with the wife,” folks on social media read Trump for filth. “Trump downplays domestic violence. That’s the real message of this clip,” @BeanzGotGamez said on X.
“Ah yes crime is when Black kids do wheelies in DC but not when white men beat their wives,” another user, @luxeprogressive, wrote. According to data from the National Domestic Violence Hotline, one in three women and one in four men experience domestic violence in their lifetime.
Nice to see at least one group of Americans is paying Attention. Also, a couple of other posts really jumped out at me:
“I mean he sexually assaults women,” @PandorasCashBox said referencing E. Jean Carroll’s 2023 case against Trump. “What’s a little domestic violence,” she continued on X. The president was found liable for sexual abuse in the case.
Another user, @mwdowdsr_dowd, brought up Trump’s multiple rape allegations too. “He probably says the Same Thing about Rape!!!!! Because he’s been Accused of that Too,” he tweeted
I highly suggest reading the entire linked OpEd. It’s well worth your time. And as I find myself increasingly saying if you’re social media savvy and/or active spread the word about this. The major news media sure as hell doesn’t seem to want to!
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“… it was unfair to have to use that number because it included ‘lesser crimes like domestic violence!’ WHAT THE HELL?
Again I am both stunned and furious this didn’t blow up…”
Denis, I always appreciate your contributions, but this one missed the mark.
Your lede didn’t appear until the fifth paragraph, to say nothing about the doubled paragraph.
And I’m not nitpicking. I kept reading and reading, wondering all the time,”What’s the BIG point that all the corporate media has missed?” Even you were hiding it!
Rethink this piece, put para 5 up at the top, and get and keep readers’ attention.
Thanks, keep up the information flow.
Thanks for commenting. I’m not sure what happened that led to the double paragraph. I had some trouble inserting the link I needed to add. I had to open a new window to find the article I saw yesterday evening and marked the spot where it needed to go. Bascially I left the draft alone for a bit. Came back, finished the paragraph and switched back and forth to add in the blocked sections. Something and again I don’t know what went screwy on me when adding in the link and wound up with that duplicated paragraph. It took a while to find a title pic and resize it. Admittedly, between that and other details involved in the page where articles are drafted that have to be tended to in my haste to get new content up to start the day I blew it on the proofreading. Mea Culpa.
As for your comment about burying the lede I thought about it and went back to change my post in a manner you’ll find more acceptable. Rest assured I’m not upset with you for your comment. Constructive criticism might sting (ok, it stings like hell) but it’s necessary sometimes and therefore welcome. I’m only upset with myself for not doing a better job on this because to me it’s such a hugely important topic.
Trump has succeeded in so dominating the billionaires who own media such as the Washington Post and LA Times that you need to look elsewhere for real news about him. Aside from all the small, independent and honest sites online, visit Lawrence O’Donnell on MSNBC if you want real outrage and indignation about what Trump is and does. In fact, MSNBC has a solid roster of people who speak out all the time: Nicolle Wallace, Chris Hayes, Rachel Maddow for example. Look for Brian Tyler Cohen and Glenn Kirschner online. Thus far, speaking truth to power hasn’t cost them their jobs, but the threat is ever present these sad days.