Rick T. Wilking/AP/Press Association Images. All rights reserved.The release of tapes of Donald Trump proudly detailing sexual assault have been seen by many as the proverbial nail in the electoral coffin. Some have wondered why it has taken until now for people to finally realize that Trump is a monster; while others have simply confirmed what they already knew. Regardless of where you stand, it was an unsurprising surprise. It was somewhat akin to the 2014 video of former NFL running back Ray Rice. Was it a surprise that professional football players beat their wives? Unfortunately, no. Was it nevertheless a shock to see a football player actually hit his wife on video? Yes. The banality of violence is easy to tolerate when swept under the rug, and yet hard to confront when shoved in our face.
But what does Trump’s latest scandal tell us about his vision for America? Trump wants to establish a caste system where social mobility is eliminated and people’s roles are defined primarily by how they relate to him. Before the tapes were leaked to the press, Trump had made comments about the “Central Park Five” and reiterated his belief that they were guilty, despite the DNA evidence exonerating the five, and a confession from the actual killer. For Trump, blacks are by definition guilty. They are stuck in a permanent cycle of perpetual criminality.
In Trump’s world, women face a double-edged sword. Women can ‘choose’ to become fat, but then they risk being ostracised and deemed unfit to participate in society. If they veer the other way, then they become susceptible to sexual assault. Instead of perpetual criminality, women can oscillate between being ostracized and being assaulted.
