Trump's Sexism Is Too Blatant Even for Republicans

Donald Trump built his career off humiliating women, and if his latest Twitter meltdown is any indication, ascending to the most powerful position in the country has not quelled his misogynistic rage. His latest target? Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski, or in the words of the president of the United States, "low I.Q. Crazy Mika."

Trump has a bizarre infatuation with talking about the blood of women, as we saw during the campaign when he attacked TV journalist Megyn Kelly after she questioned him about his history of misogyny during a presidential debate. "You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes. Blood coming out of her wherever," is what he said after the encounter.

But now that he's president, Trump's words carry more weight, and it's harder to dismiss his mean streak as simply an impulse-control problem that he'll grow out of in the White House. His latest weird, bloody misogynistic outburst garnered condemnation from many Republicans.

"Mr. President, your tweet was beneath the office and represents what is wrong with American politics, not the greatness of America," Lindsey Graham, the Republican senator from South Carolina, tweeted.

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan had a more milquetoast response, saying at a press conference, "I don't see that as an appropriate comment."

"Please just stop. This isn't normal and it's beneath the dignity of your office," Senator Ben Sasse, the millennial-hating Nebraska Republican, wrote on Twitter.

Kansas Republican congresswoman Lynn Jenkins tweeted, "This is not okay. As a female in politics I am often criticized for my looks. We should be working to empower women."

"Inappropriate. Undignified. Unpresidential," said failed presidential candidate Jeb Bush.

"I don't believe the President's tweets this morning Make America Great Again," Kansas Republican representative Jared Yoder keenly observed. (He has yet to comment on whether Trump's 2016 tweets deriding Brzezinski as "very insecure" and a "neurotic, not too bright mess" help make America great again.)

The Republicans nobly denouncing Trump's latest bout of vulgarity stop well short of denouncing Trump himself. They condemn his words—rightly—as being cruel, but are happy to support cruelty when it comes to legislation that stands to hurt women by defunding Planned Parenthood, and hurt everyone with legislation that cuts Medicaid funding.

Trump's vulgar misogyny and the anti-woman legislation he's working to sign into law can't be separated from one another. Both are expressions of a society that oppresses women. Paul Ryan and Lindsey Graham may be embarrassed by Trump's childish insults, but they have no problem with their party unanimously blocking a bill that ensures equal pay for women. That speaks volumes.

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