A Republican’s Perspective on the 2024 Election: The Consequences of Electing a Sexual Predator to Our Nation’s Highest Office

This piece is part of a series of articles produced in a special topics class taught by Professor of Law, Jurisprudence, and Social Thought Lawrence Douglas on the upcoming election. Articles may have been reviewed by Douglas as well as other members of the class prior to submission to The Student.

As I discussed in the first article of this column, I am a former Trump supporter whose realization that right-wing media outlets were manipulating Americans like myself was sparked by two pivotal events: Fox News settling a $787 million lawsuit for lying to viewers about election conspiracies, and Trump being found liable for sexually abusing E. Jean Carroll. Although it may seem unimaginable to those on the left that many Americans are unaware of the full extent of Trump’s sexual misconduct, I had not heard the 2005 Access Hollywood tape, where Trump bragged about forcing himself on women and grabbing them by the genitalia, until my first year at Amherst. I’ve also spoken with many students here who didn’t know Trump had been found liable for sexual assault. This is why, in many of my articles this fall, I find it necessary to provide a comprehensive overview of the topic, alongside my opinion, for conservatives who have only been exposed to biased right-wing news. If there is any indicator of how effective right-wing media outlets and politicians like J.D. Vance, who previously agreed that Trump committed “serial sexual assault,” have been at successfully convincing their base that Trump’s legal woes are merely a political witch hunt, it’s the widespread conservative rejection of Trump’s liability for sexually assaulting E. Jean Carrol.

Trump’s reputation began when he bought the Miss Universe Organization — which also includes the sister scholarship programs Miss USA and Miss Teen USA — seeing the contests as “sick pupp[ies]” that wrongfully placed greater emphasis on brains over beauty. After acquiring the rights to the shows and refocusing the pageants purely on the women’s and teenagers’ bodies, he bragged about making the “heels higher and the bathing suits smaller.” Another perk of buying the pageants, according to Trump, was his newfound ability to walk into the changing rooms unannounced. Trump boasted, “I’ll go backstage before a show, and everyone’s getting dressed and ready and everything else. You know, no men are anywhere. And I’m allowed to go in because I’m the owner of the pageant. And therefore, I’m inspecting it … Is everyone OK? You know, they’re standing there with no clothes. And you see these incredible-looking women. And so I sort of get away with things like that.” Beyond the hypocrisy that this is the presidential nominee of the “party of family values,” who repealed transgender bathroom laws because women may feel uncomfortable sharing a space while unclothed with a man, many of the contestants described the obvious discomfort of a man in his 50s inspecting their young, nude bodies.

Mariah Billado, Miss Teen Vermont 1997, told BuzzFeed, “I remember putting on my dress really quick because I was like, ‘Oh my god, there’s a man in here.’” Former Miss Arizona Tasha Dixon told Los Angeles’ CBS affiliate that Trump entered the Miss USA dressing room in 2001 when she was a contestant. “He just came strolling right in,” Dixon said. “There was no time to put on a robe or any sort of clothing. Some girls were topless, others were naked. Our first introduction to him was during the dress rehearsal when we were half-naked, changing into our bikinis.” Not only were the contestants expected to tolerate his behavior, but Miss Universe employees encouraged them to flirt with Trump when he entered the changing rooms. Dixon stated, “To have the owner come waltzing in when we’re naked or half-naked, in a very physically vulnerable position, and then to have the pressure from his staff telling us to go fawn all over him, walk up to him, talk to him, get his attention … ”

In addition to his presence backstage, Trump engaged in other forms of highly inappropriate conduct with the contestants such as kissing them against their wishes while married, repetitively grabbing one of the contestants’ backsides and encouraging her to come to his hotel room, and openly suggesting it was his “obligation” to sleep with the young girls. One year, multiple contestants spoke out against Trump for lining up the contestants and making them rate each other, with Paromita Mitra of Mississippi saying, “I literally have nightmares about the process,” and Cassandra Searles, Miss Washington 2013, describing Trump as a misogynist who “treated us like cattle” who lined them up to “get a closer look at his property.” In addition, reigning Miss Universe Brook Antoinette Mahealani Lee recalls Trump emphatically seeking agreement for how “hot” his daughter was, which isn't necessarily surprising considering he once joked that if Ivanka weren’t his daughter he might be dating her, and White House aides said he often talked about his daughter’s breasts, backside, and what it would be like to have sex with her.

In addition to dehumanizing the contestants, Trump harshly criticized their appearances, referring to Alicia Machado, Miss Universe 1996, as “Miss Piggy” due to her weight gain and “Miss Housekeeping” because she is Latina. Later, Machado told the New York Times that Trump invited reporters to observe her exercising against her wishes, stating, “I was about to cry at that moment with all the cameras there. I said, ‘I don’t want to do this, Mr. Trump.’ He said, ‘I don’t care.’” As someone whose little sister is one of the young Americans who finds confidence and joy in beauty pageants, it has been incredibly difficult for me to maintain respect for those who overlook Trump’s misconduct toward young women and teenagers. Knowing that she could easily have been one of the vulnerable teenagers molested backstage by a 50-year-old Trump, I can’t express how disheartening it is to realize that nearly half of the nation I love so much wouldn’t consider my little sister’s abuse disqualifying for our country’s leader.

In addition to his past in the beauty pageant industry, in 2005, a “hot mic” caught Trump bragging about making sexual advances on married women while he was also married, as well as aggressively kissing and groping other women. In the audio clip, he states, “I moved on her and failed, I'll admit it. I did try to fuck her. She was married… You know I’m automatically attracted to beautiful women. I just start kissing them. It's like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab them by the pussy.” Additionally, Trump claimed, “All of the women on “The Apprentice” flirted with me — consciously or unconsciously. That’s to be expected. A sexual dynamic is always present between people, unless you are asexual.” Trump’s personal description of how he sexually assaults women, along with his belief that any woman who doesn’t want sexual relations with a man must be asexual, makes it unsurprising to me that he was recently found liable for sexual assault and faces 26 accusations of sexual misconduct.

Rather than admit fault, Trump has successfully persuaded many Americans that these are all politically motivated stunts from lunatic liberals trying to stop him. Despite Trump promising to sue every “liar,” he has not sued one and instead dishes out pathetic excuses.  Some of his most pitiful include that Jessica Leeds wasn’t attractive enough for him to assault, that his ex-wife Ivana Trump’s rape claims are invalid because “you cannot rape your spouse,” and that his accusers are simply seeking free publicity. While Republicans criticize Trump’s accusers for waiting years to come out, the response from the right has been a horrifying wake-up call to me for why many survivors keep their assault to themselves. Many survivors struggle their entire life with confidence, self-worth, and acceptance due to the horror of their assault, and the narrative that Fox News and Trump have pushed — that these women are exposing the most vulnerable aspects of their life for free publicity — is the most disgusting narrative I have ever seen a mainstream news network push.

Given Trump’s history of bragging about sexual misconduct and assault, his continued denial of any sexual wrongdoings should be conservatives’ revelation that Trump is a liar whose “political prosecutions” are simply him being held accountable for his actions. I’m confident that no American would vote for a politician who assaulted their loved one, even if they agreed with every one of his policies. Therefore, as a nation, I wish we would take a moment to reflect on the true horror of what we are excusing. The president, beyond being our nation’s chief executive, is a role model for American youth who rightfully associate American values with the office. As one of the impressionable American boys who once admired Trump, I understand how dangerous it is to have him as a model for masculinity. It is equally heartbreaking that women, who make up half of the population Trump could represent again, are learning that half of the country wouldn’t consider their assault a disqualifying action for the leader of our country, and that many would call them liars if they ever spoke out against someone who shares their political views. Trump’s acceptance by society is causing irreversible damage to the younger generation, teaching them that even in 2024, wealth, fame, power, and humor can excuse decades of dehumanization and sexual assault.

Update, Oct. 8, 2024: This article has been updated to clarify that this article is part of a special topics class.