Thursday, October 24, 2019

Trump: The Making of a Predator



Barry Levine and Monique El-Faizy are the authors of a new book, "All The President's Women: Donald Trump And The Making Of A Predator," which presents allegations from an additional 43 women of sexual assault or misconduct by depraved sociopath and misogynist Donald "Grab 'Em" Trump. Based on over 100 interviews, the authors trace Trump's abusive, aberrant sexual history from a young age to the present day. Levine and El-Faizy were interviewed by Adrienne Westenfeld for Esquire magazine, and even knowing what a sick monster he is, it's still mind-numbing. Some excerpts from the interview (our emphasis):
(Levine) There were, in fact, many more allegations involving inappropriate behavior that had been reported, but were never been fully amassed in one specific number. When we began building up those numbers, it was staggering. It began to show patterns in the way Trump did things. We came upon a story involving a supermodel at the Plaza Hotel where Trump entered this woman’s suite in the middle of the night. This follows something that another of his accusers had previously named in court papers, in which Trump had entered the room of a model at Mar-a-Lago during the night." [snip]
(El-Faizy) A classmate of Trump’s told us that they learned about women through Playboy, then they graduated and realized, I can’t be like that. Trump never had that realization. I think the man is responsible for refusing to change his attitudes, but I also think he’s a reflection of larger societal trends. His evangelical supporters talk about that. They say, “What do you expect? That’s how society treats women. Why should we expect the president to be any different?” [snip]
(El-Faizy) Without question, [beauty pageants were] a hunting ground not only for Trump, but for wealthy men who were in this circle. They would go to parties arranged specifically with models, many of them very young, in which the sole purpose of these parties was for men to pick up these women. These things are always about power, not about sex. You have these older, rich, powerful men, and girls who are there alone. [snip]
(Levine) I was surprised by how much predatory behavior connected to Donald Trump is still out there. We did this book on a deadline. If we’d been able to devote two years of reporting to this book, there’s no telling how many untold stories we would have found. That was the most shocking thing--that there are still so many women with stories to tell. I’ve been overwhelmed emotionally by hearing so many of these stories--how difficult it is for these women to feel comfortable telling their stories.
Read the whole interview. Although we've become familiar with this monster's depravity as we're exposed to it regularly, the victims' stories need to be aired if only to help repair the damage he's done to them.

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