Donald Trump has the biggest platform of any out-of-control bully in the world right now. This week, he’s using it to try and destroy former Miss Universe contestant Alicia Machado, who’s spoken out about how Trump mistreated and humiliated her when she gained weight after winning the crown. Trump has been ranting nonstop about Machado since Hillary Clinton brought her up in Monday’s presidential debate.
The alleged “sex tape” is not a sex tape at all. It’s a night-vision clip from La Granja, a Spanish Big Brother*–esque reality program, that appears to show Machado having sex with a man. The clip, from 2005, shows no nudity; both Machado and her partner are covered by sheets. It’s similar to a hundred scenes that have aired on Big Brother, Jersey Shore, or The Real World. Though the clip has been available for a decade, it’s safe to say that few people knew or cared about it until the Trump campaign thrust it into the political news cycle. Today, the world is dissecting it.
The abject cruelty and cynicism of this move is staggering. Machado isn’t running for political office; there’s no reason for Trump to attack her for something unrelated to her claims against him. He’s trying to besmirch her character as if it were relevant, as if she were his opponent. Her appearance on a sexy reality show has no bearing on her Miss Universe story, yet he’s acting as if this video clip invalidates it. Hillary did not present her as an “angel” or “paragon of virtue,” as Trump tweeted. She presented Machado as a regular woman who was bullied mercilessly by an entitled, insecure man who gets off on putting women down. One need not be “Mother Teresa” to deserve better than Trump’s abuse.
Having sex on a reality show is nothing to be ashamed about. But Trump’s use of this clip as a weapon against her character—her reliability, her capacity to inspire sympathy, her deserving of kind treatment—is callous and low. It’s also extraordinarily hypocritical. Trump is forever bragging about the hotness of his own wives and sexual conquests, and he’s applauded Melania’s success as a model when confronted with her own nude photo shoots. He’s watched Paris Hilton’s sex tape and commended her for being jaw-droppingly hot at age 12. He proudly recalls his own adultery while telling us that Machado’s sex is something to shame—“disgusting,” he called her in his tweet.
Trump’s capacity for no-holds-barred shaming of anyone and everyone should give voters cause for deep concern. Even worse, perhaps, is the fact that he can’t stop himself from bullying people even when it’s not in his political interest.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_facto...peaks_with_alicia_machado_sex_tape_tweet.html
The alleged “sex tape” is not a sex tape at all. It’s a night-vision clip from La Granja, a Spanish Big Brother*–esque reality program, that appears to show Machado having sex with a man. The clip, from 2005, shows no nudity; both Machado and her partner are covered by sheets. It’s similar to a hundred scenes that have aired on Big Brother, Jersey Shore, or The Real World. Though the clip has been available for a decade, it’s safe to say that few people knew or cared about it until the Trump campaign thrust it into the political news cycle. Today, the world is dissecting it.
The abject cruelty and cynicism of this move is staggering. Machado isn’t running for political office; there’s no reason for Trump to attack her for something unrelated to her claims against him. He’s trying to besmirch her character as if it were relevant, as if she were his opponent. Her appearance on a sexy reality show has no bearing on her Miss Universe story, yet he’s acting as if this video clip invalidates it. Hillary did not present her as an “angel” or “paragon of virtue,” as Trump tweeted. She presented Machado as a regular woman who was bullied mercilessly by an entitled, insecure man who gets off on putting women down. One need not be “Mother Teresa” to deserve better than Trump’s abuse.
Having sex on a reality show is nothing to be ashamed about. But Trump’s use of this clip as a weapon against her character—her reliability, her capacity to inspire sympathy, her deserving of kind treatment—is callous and low. It’s also extraordinarily hypocritical. Trump is forever bragging about the hotness of his own wives and sexual conquests, and he’s applauded Melania’s success as a model when confronted with her own nude photo shoots. He’s watched Paris Hilton’s sex tape and commended her for being jaw-droppingly hot at age 12. He proudly recalls his own adultery while telling us that Machado’s sex is something to shame—“disgusting,” he called her in his tweet.
Trump’s capacity for no-holds-barred shaming of anyone and everyone should give voters cause for deep concern. Even worse, perhaps, is the fact that he can’t stop himself from bullying people even when it’s not in his political interest.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_facto...peaks_with_alicia_machado_sex_tape_tweet.html
