Since his announcement to enter the race for the Presidency—The Donald’s life, business dealings, family, and especially his wife Melania have become a primary focus of the media and potential voters. Indeed Mr. Trump is a master of self-marketing and has managed to remain in the headlines on an almost daily basis, with his provocative comments directed at almost every group, outrageous claims of superiority, and ridiculous attacks on his opponents and anyone else he believes has dissed him. He enjoys the spotlight and knows how to keep it on him. Throughout it all, a favorite target has been women—old ones, ugly ones, fat ones, low energy ones, etc.
Now we have an 11 year old tape of Donald on an open mike (one he was not aware was in operation) talking with Billy Bush about the (ummm) qualities of a certain woman, and how the Donald had hit on another very attractive and married woman who had rebuffed him. All this not long after he married his third wife, Melania. Have to wonder how there have only been three when The Donald has so much trouble keeping his thoughts, words, and hands in check.
Now for anyone acting shocked and horrified by the behavior—take it easy. Guys do talk this way when in the company of other men some of the time. It’s called bragging and kissing and telling when the woman kisses back. However most of the time it happens in the locker room of a Junior High School. It is childish, cheap, and makes the person uttering it look like they are trying hard to impress. Sounds like The Donald all right.
Well it might have been 11 years ago, but it has sparked an outrage and led to a twitter storm that is packing an intensity like Matthew. People are weighing in with his unfitness for the presidency, his crude mouth, his attempts to cheat on his new wife—and some are even calling it assault. WOW—The Donald has managed to grab the headlines again, but this time he was as blindsided as everyone by how it happened.
His usually mysterious, quiet, and dutiful wife has finally spoken up—and she is joining in with everyone else on how inappropriate his behavior was. However, like the Good Wife, she has forgiven him. This when Trump is frequently criticizing Hillary for standing by her cheating man. This latest dust up may leave him speechless about Bill’s past escapades due to the glass house this has put him in. But with Trump, you just never know.
What everyone is probably wondering about is what Melania is thinking—something we have been asking since the summer of 2015. Does she know he behaves this way around other women, does she ever confront or challenge him behind closed doors, is she just a “trophy wife” as some have suggested, or does she hold a more equal spot and have real influence when the cameras and mikes are off? And is this public rebuke by Melania just a response thought up by the campaign as part of their strategy to minimize this tape and its potential for turning off more women voters and even Republicans who have tried to present a united front throughout this campaign?
It’s unlikely we will know the answers to any of these questions anytime soon. Years from now someone will write a tell-all book—but probably not until a time when many folks will ask “Donald who?” If this doesn’t sink him then someone should name a game after him—something like “Whack a Trump.”
