Trump sexual misconduct shielded by Republican party

Warning: This article includes mentions of Rape and Sexual Assault. If this offends you in any way, do not read.

It has been nearly a year since Donald Trump’s Access Hollywood tape was released to the public. The tape details lewd comments toward actress Arianne Zucker, as well as Trump’s favored plan for sexual assault.

Following the leak, many GOP congresspeople came out against Trump’s comments, but continued to support him, and after the election, almost all of Trump’s sexually explicit and predatory remarks faded into silence as the nation struggled to embrace him.

Currently, there are 15 women who have accused Trump of sexual assault.

15.

These accusations go back 40 years, with the first being alleged by Jessica Leed, who stated that Trump groped her for 15 minutes on a plane.

Others include Kristen Anderson, Cathy Heller, Temple Taggart McDowell, Karena Virginia, Mindy McGillivray, Rachel Crooks, Natasha Stoynoff, Jessica Drake, Ninni Laaksonen, Summer Zervos and Cassandra Seales.

In the 1990s, Trump’s then-wife Ivana alleged that he raped her, though she later retracted her accusation. Jill Harth accused him of sexual assault in 1992. In 1994, a woman using the name Katie Johnson alleged that he had raped her when she was 13.

These accusations are, in many cases, years old.

However, the Republican party has yet to take any significant action against Trump, and they control both the House and the Senate. Without the assistance of the GOP, there will be no consequences for Trump’s actions. The Democrats and Independents of congress simply do not possess the power to push through legislation, particularly not legislation as controversial as a condemnation of the commander in chief.

Why are the Republican congresspeople not taking a stand against Trump? It may be because they fear the effect it will have on their party, or that they believe these 15 women are lying, or that they simply haven’t paid attention and therefore do not know Trump has sexually assaulted people.

But it’s probably that they just don’t care.

If you took the time to look up quotes from the GOP regarding rape or sexual assault, you’d find yourself falling down a rabbit hole lined with botched anti-abortion phrases and straight-up sexism.

These comments go back to March 25, 1990, when Texas Republican candidate Clayton Williams infamously said of rape, “If it’s inevitable, just relax and enjoy it.”

Williams is far from the only Republican to make comments like this.

In 2011, Republican state senator Roger Rivard said, “If you go down that road, some girls, they rape so easy.”

Again in 2011, Republican state representative Kathleen Passidomo said, “There was an article about an 11-year-old girl who was gang-raped in Texas by 18 young men because she was dressed like a 21-year-old prostitute.”

A year later, Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul said, “If it’s an honest rape, that individual should go immediately to the emergency room. I would give them a shot of estrogen.”

In the same year, Republican congressman Todd Akin said of pregnancy as a result of rape, “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to shut that whole thing down.”  To state the obvious, these comments imply some rape is dishonest and illegitimate.

Perhaps beliefs like these are why the Republican party refuses to go after Trump for his sexual misconduct.