By Layne Unkle
Let me begin by saying I support Donald J. Trump. I am a middle-class white female, and I support Trump. Some may be questioning my judgment, especially after the past few weeks. But the allegations against him, whether true or false, were all over 10 years ago. Many of the details in these cases have already been called into question. He has also publicly apologized for the audio tape of “locker room banter” from 2005. We’ve all heard men talk about women in this way—it’s extremely common, especially in high school and college. Trump was under the impression that he was not being recorded at that time, and that the conversation was between friends. The transcripts of the tape include two other participants in the conversation: Billy Bush, a former cohost of the Today show, and an unidentified third person—both of whom also talk in a lewd way about women, so obviously Trump felt as though no one would know.
Look back to the beginning of this race. Trump would not only mock or take jabs at the other candidates, but he would sometimes avoid answering the moderator’s questions. Looking at him now, he has complimented Hillary Clinton on her drive and determination, and he’s answered every question asked at his rallies and the debates. He promotes himself and his family positively throughout his campaign, rather than trying to smear Hillary Clinton’s name negatively. The man stepped outside of his comfort zone—business—and is trying to take on the responsibility of running this great country. He wants to fix this nation, save our veterans and help our schools. He wants to create more jobs and secure our borders from drugs and other contraband. This is a man that wants to help us, not hurt us. To me, that’s pretty admirable.
On the subject of his mistreatment towards women, I don’t believe that everything that has come out is true. Many of the scenarios have been taken out of context; the background story has not been broadcast as much as the allegations themselves have. One of the supposed sexual assault cases was Jessica Leeds, a woman who was sitting next to Donald on a flight in 1979. This case, along with almost all of the others, has some questionable details. Leeds claimed that Trump lifted the armrest on the seat and grabbed her forcibly; however, in pictures of the exact plane you can see that the armrests are stationary. (Ed. note: CNN reports the armrests of the plane in question were removable.) In the case of Mindy McGillivray, she claimed that a young Donald Trump “nudged her” at a concert at Mar-a-Lago on January 24, 2003. But there was allegedly no such concert on that date. So take these stories with a grain of salt—This is a campaign, after all. The opponent will always try to look for the worst in you, even if the worst is now 10 or more years in the past.
As a woman, of course sexual assault and harassment are concerns of mine. Sexual assault is no joke—one out of every four college women will be sexually assaulted or harassed in her lifetime. But trying to connect Trump to a rise in rape and sexual assault cases is outrageous. Do I fear that the chances of me being groped or grabbed will increase if Trump is elected president? Of course not. One person stepping into the White House is not going to increase the likelihood of sexual assault. Do I fear that this country will suffer depending on the outcome of this election? I most certainly do. And if I were you, I would be pretty worried, too.