Democratic Women Slam Trump Comments as ‘Sick,’ ‘Sexist’
4 Democratic female senators criticized Trump on campaign trail in Pennsylvania
PHILADELPHIA — Female Democrats came out swinging against Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, calling his leaked remarks about women “sick” and accusing him of being sexist.
“I can’t even stand to hardly say his name anymore. It’s so disgusting the way he thinks of women,” Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow told a group of campaign volunteers Friday night. “Somebody who’s ignorant and arrogant and sexist and racist and unprepared does not deserve to be our president.”
[Ryan ‘Sickened’ By Trump Remarks]
The group, gathered at the Pennsylvania 6 bar in downtown Philadelphia, cheered as Stabenow criticized Trump and said no woman in the country should support him. The three-term Michigan senator was on the campaign trail with Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin, Hawaii Sen. Mazie Hirono and New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen to support Pennsylvania Democratic candidate Katie McGinty in her Senate campaign.
And the women were fired up after video footage was published Friday that revealed Trump used disparaging language to describe his sexual advances towards women. The 2005 conversation occurred on an “Access Hollywood” bus when Trump was making an appearance on the soap opera “Days of Our Lives,” according to The Washington Post, which obtained the footage.
“Grab them by the p—y,” Trump said in the video. “You can do anything.”
The Democrats emphasized that Trump’s comments were not entirely surprising, and reflected previous misogynistic and inflammatory statements.
“The fact is, this is who Donald Trump is,” Shaheen said. “We see it everyday, every time he’s on the campaign trail, every time he tweets. And we can’t let that happen to America”
The video was the talk of the organizing event for the Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and McGinty campaigns.
“Did you think that Donald could sink any lower?!” McGinty asked the group.
The crowd groaned in response, but one woman in the bar remarked, “Yes. Yes I did.”
Baldwin said the female senators were in the air when news of the footage broke. They were flying from North Carolina where they campaigned for Democratic Senate candidate Deborah Ross. When they turned on their phones after landing, their phones lit up with the reports.
The Wisconsin senator described Trump’s remarks as “predatory language.”
“A man who says those things — it is sick and he cannot be our president,” she said.
The women called on Republicans, particularly McGinty’s opponent, Sen. Patrick J. Toomey, to denounce Trump.
In front of local television news crews, McGinty reiterated an earlier statement calling on Toomey to apologize to the people of Pennsylvania for supporting Trump for president.
“I’m a mom of three teenage daughters. These are disgusting comments. Donald Trump has no business being in the run or the race for president for this great country,” McGinty said. “And Pat Toomey has no business standing with Donald Trump for president of this country.”
Toomey tweeted a statement Friday night that said, “Donald Trump’s comments were outrageous and unacceptable.”
Other Republicans, including House Speaker Paul D. Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell also condemned the remarks.
The GOP leaders did not revoke their support for Trump’s candidacy.
Meanwhile Democrats continued to hammer Republicans for backing Trump.
“It is time for every Republican elected official in this county to revoke their endorsements of Donald Trump and state that they will not vote for their party’s nominee, who has been caught on tape bragging about routinely sexually assaulting women,” Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid said in a statement. “There is no way to defend the indefensible. In the name of decency, Republicans should admit that this deviant — this sociopath — cannot be president.”
Standing in front of the group in Philadelphia, Hirono summed up Trump in a single Japanese word that is pronounced “oochee.” It means a person who makes one’s skin crawl, she said.
Contact Bowman at bridgetbowman@rollcall.com and follow her on Twitter @bridgetbhc.