Michael Hernandez
12 December 2017•Update: 18 December 2017
By Michael Hernandez
WASHINGTON
President Donald Trump lashed out at a Democratic senator Tuesday by suggesting Kirsten Gilligrand would "do anything" for money as he faces renewed allegations of sexual assault.
"Lightweight Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a total flunky for [Senate Minority Leader] Chuck Schumer and someone who would come to my office 'begging' for campaign contributions not so long ago (and would do anything for them), is now in the ring fighting against Trump," the American president wrote during a flurry of early morning tweets that further described the New York senator as "disloyal".
Gillibrand retorted by calling Trump's social media post "a sexist smear" that sought to silence her amid a renewed chorus of women calling for Trump to be investigated over past sexual impropriety.
"I will not be silenced on this issue. Neither will the women who stood up to the president yesterday," she told reporters.
Elizabeth Warren, Gillibrand's Democratic colleague in the senate, also took to her defense, writing on Twitter: "Are you really trying to bully, intimidate and slut-shame @SenGillibrand? Do you know who you're picking a fight with? Good luck with that, @realDonaldTrump."
The White House defended Trump's comments as a reference to the corrosive influence of campaign contributions on Washington's politics.
"There's no way that this is sexist at all, this is simply talking about a system that we have that is broken, in which special interests control our government," spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters. "Only if your mind is in the gutter would you have read it that way."
Trump has a long history of verbally lashing out at women in a manner criticized by many as being sexist.
He criticized journalist Megyn Kelly with comments she had "blood coming out of her wherever" after she questioned him during a presidential debate, and Trump was critical of the appearance of Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina, who he said would not be able to get votes because of her face.
Three women came forward Monday to renew their claims of Trump's alleged past sexual misconduct as a wave of powerful men are forced from their posts because of similar allegations prompted by the growing Me Too movement.
Most recently, Democratic lawmakers Al Franken and John Conyers stepped down from office as charges of sexual impropriety mounted.
Addressing the Senate, Franken said he was keenly aware of the "irony in the fact that I am leaving while a man who has bragged on tape about his history of sexual assault sits in the Oval Office”.
A recording of Trump lewdly bragging about grabbing women by their genitalia without their consent was released in the final days of the 2016 presidential race, forcing a rare public apology from then-candidate Trump.
A letter signed by nearly 60 female Democratic lawmakers made reference to the recording, saying at least 17 women have charged the president with sexual misconduct, and urged the House of Representatives oversight committee to probe the misconduct claims.
"The President’s own remarks appear to back up the allegations. The President has boasted in public and in crude terms that he feels at liberty to perpetrate such conduct against women. Subsequently, Mr. Trump apologized and called it 'locker room talk.' He has since called all his accusers liars," they wrote. " We cannot ignore the multitude of women who have come forward with accusations against Mr. Trump."
They said Trump should be able to present evidence in his defense.
Responding to mounting calls for his resignation over additional sexual misconduct, the president framed the effort as a Democratic plot to remove him from office over illegitimate claims.
"Now they are moving on to the false accusations and fabricated stories of women who I don’t know and/or have never met. FAKE NEWS!" Trump said on Twitter.
