We should never sit back and watch someone publicly humiliate another person- especially when that offender is the president of the United States of America. On multiple occasions, Donald Trump has insulted, berated, and offended female reporters for simply doing their jobs. Instead of inspiring this nation, our president is belittling important pillars of our democracy and teaching everyone, especially younger generations, that it is permissible to undermine other human beings simply because we don’t like what they are asking.
The most recent verbal attack happened at the White House on Dec. 8: “You are the most obnoxious reporter in the whole place,” the president said after ABC’s Rachel Scott asked about video of the Sept. 2 strikes on apparent drug boats in the Caribbean. “Let me just tell you, you are an obnoxious, a terrible–actually a terrible reporter, and it’s always the same thing with you.”
President Trump has repeatedly made demeaning remarks about their appearances, as well. After Catherine Lucy asked a question about the unfolding Jeffrey Epstein scandal, Trump replied by saying, “Quiet, piggy.” Regardless of how Trump felt about the topic in question, it is highly unprofessional and unacceptable to respond in such a vulgar way, commenting on her appearance when comments like this are completely irrelevant to the conversation.
In another instance, Trump referred to New York Times correspondent Katie Rogers as a “third-rate reporter who is ugly, both inside and out.” And finally, after CBS reporter Nancy Cordes attempted to fact-check Trump’s claim that Afghans fleeing the Taliban were never vetted under a Biden-era program, he replied by saying, “Are you stupid? Are you a stupid person?”
Not only is his choice of words in both of these instances degrading, but it’s flat-out harassment and a full-on insult to their careers. With this pattern of looking down on women through humiliating comments, he is reinforcing sexist power dynamics that target women who are rightfully doing their jobs.
Trump is harming these women, the people who are tuning into him, and he is also making himself look bad in many ways. For one, most people have the common sense to understand that insulting someone when you are in such an authoritative position as the president of the United States is a very bad, unprofessional look. But another thing to think about is that these comments distract from accountability. He is choosing to attack these women rather than answering the questions, making it seem like he is either hiding something or doesn’t have anything to say at all. Why should the people of America trust a man with such a bad moral compass?
As a female who has spent four years writing for her high school’s newspaper with the intention of continuing this study in further education, this situation rattles my core. If we continue to tolerate this etiquette, it will only progressively get worse. The youth will become desensitized to this behavior and be taught that it is acceptable to normalize the belittlement of women who speak up and ask hard questions.
More attention should be brought to this because it is negatively impacting these women and our community as a whole. Harassment is never okay; it is an example of Trump abusing his power, and it’s emotionally harmful to the women involved. It is a complete violation of basic respect and human dignity, and being complacent with this situation is like saying harassment is okay.
Unfortunately, there isn’t a straightforward solution to this problem. Regardless, people are going to say and do whatever they want. However, that doesn’t mean we should turn our heads from the subject and pretend it isn’t happening. There are things we can do to raise awareness and spread the word. First, use the media for good. We need to call out and expose this harassment in real time. More people need to recognize this as an issue that needs addressing. We need to keep each other accountable; we hold more power than we think we do. Additionally, amplify the need to care. Some people might brush this off and think it’s all okay, but it’s not. Spread the word that this behavior isn’t normal, and that we shouldn’t brush it off every time this happens. At the end of the day, no one should be permitted to speak to someone the way President Trump has spoken to these women.
