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Trump Lied When He Said He Knew 'Nothing' About Weinstein

Trump Lied When He Said He Knew 'Nothing' About Weinstein

Donald Trump and Harvey Weinstein

Trump told reporters he knew "nothing" about the Harvey Weinstein case, which began a national movement about sexual abuse, but he commented on it in October. 

Admitted serial sexual harasser Donald Trump has contradicted himself, or, to put it bluntly, lied, yet again. The latest example involves his telling reporters on his way to the Naval Academy that he is not familiar with the Harvey Weinstein case, an issue that came up because the fallen Hollywood power player, who allegedly harassed or assaulted up to 95 women, was arrested on rape charges in New York City Friday.

"I don't know anything about it," Trump said when a reporter asked him for his thoughts about Weinstein's arrest, CBS reports.

But he wasn't done denying his knowledge of Weinstein's alleged rapes.

"I'm not familiar with the case, but it's really too bad," Trump added when another reporter questioned him about knowing nothing about one of the leading stories of the past nine months.

Besides the fact that The New York Times first exposed Weinstein's serial crimes in an investigative report last October, spurring a national conversation about sexual harassment and abuse, the #MeToo movement, and a reckoning for many abusers, which the person running the country should have been aware of, Trump's assertion that he knew nothing about the case contradicts comments he made in October.

On what the Los Angeles Times noted was the anniversary of the revelation of the famed Access Hollywood tape in which Trump boasted that he kisses women without consent and likes to "grab them by the pussy" (also without consent), he took the opportunity to swipe at major Democratic donor Weinstein.

At the time Trump was first questioned about the allegations against Weinstein, he told reporters he'd known the producer for a very long time and "I'm not at all surprised to see it."

One reporter at the time snuck in a question about his remarks about Weinstein's serial predations falling on the one-year anniversary of the release of the Access Hollywood tape, and Trump again contended that his comments on the tape were just "locker room talk."

Beyond Trump's denial of knowledge about Weinstein's alleged crimes and the national awareness around sexual harassment and abuse that he claims to be blissfully unaware of, it's troubling that Trump said of Weinstein's arrest that it's "too bad." However, the response is not surprising, coming from a man who supported alleged pedophile Roy Moore for the Senate and who defended accused abusers in a tweet about his former staff secretary Rob Porter, whose ex-wives accused him of domestic violence.

"People's lives are being shattered and destroyed by a mere allegation. Some are true and some are false. Some are old and some are new," Trump tweeted in February. "There is no recovery for someone falsely accused - life and career are gone. Is there no such thing any longer as Due Process?"

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Tracy E. Gilchrist

Tracy E. Gilchrist is the VP of Editorial and Special Projects at equalpride. A media veteran, she writes about the intersections of LGBTQ+ equality and pop culture. Previously, she was the editor-in-chief of The Advocate and the first feminism editor for the 55-year-old brand. In 2017, she launched the company's first podcast, The Advocates. She is an experienced broadcast interviewer, panel moderator, and public speaker who has delivered her talk, "Pandora's Box to Pose: Game-changing Visibility in Film and TV," at universities throughout the country.
Tracy E. Gilchrist is the VP of Editorial and Special Projects at equalpride. A media veteran, she writes about the intersections of LGBTQ+ equality and pop culture. Previously, she was the editor-in-chief of The Advocate and the first feminism editor for the 55-year-old brand. In 2017, she launched the company's first podcast, The Advocates. She is an experienced broadcast interviewer, panel moderator, and public speaker who has delivered her talk, "Pandora's Box to Pose: Game-changing Visibility in Film and TV," at universities throughout the country.