Sexual predators rarely change their behavior—even if their harassment isn’t always sexual. This is a fact that is worth remembering because Donald Trump’s predatory nature was on full display this week as James Comey testified about Trump’s blatant abuse of power during his short tenure as president. For those who have ever experienced sexual harassment, Comey’s recollections were eerily familiar. The unwanted advances, demands for certain services and “loyalty” in exchange for job security, maneuvering to be alone with the victim in order to further intimidate and harass: these are all clear signs of abuse and manipulation.
Comey said Trump lured him to the White House in January by implying there would be a dinner party. But it turned out it was just the two of them “at a small oval table in the middle of the Green Room.” [...]
During that dinner Trump made vague but ominous demands, implying that Comey’s job was on the line if he didn’t comply. Just replace “loyalty” in this request with the other thing that Trump thinks people owe him because he’s a star.
Of course, James Comey is a really big guy. He’s 6 feet 8 inches tall. And he’s a straight white guy with this own levels of power and influence behind him. So, for some, its hard to imagine that he’d be intimidated by Trump in the same way that perhaps a woman or another victim of sexual harassment might be in a different situation in their workplace. This is not meant to compare those experiences—they are not the same, especially because the social identities of the victim and harasser are so important here. But what is exactly the same is the behavior of the harasser. In this case, Trump used the power of the presidency to intimidate his victim. This is a pattern of his behavior that is well-established.
Another similar factor in this scenario is the victim-blaming Comey experienced. One of the first things victims of sexual harassment often get asked is why they did not report their harasser’s abusive behavior.
Senate questioners on both sides of the aisle gave even more weight to the notion that all abuses of power look alike in the dark, and that it is the target’s responsibility to make a harasser behave. Dianne Feinstein wondered, “You’re big, you’re strong… Why didn’t you stop him?” Marco Rubio wondered, basically, “If it was so bad, why didn’t you say something then?”:
This felt a little bit like the equivalent of asking a sexual assault victim “What were you wearing?” on the night of your assault. This was something that did not escape the attention of commenters online. Because, again, this is not unfamiliar territory for many, many women who have been abused.
James Comey did exactly what many abuse and harassment victims try to do when they have a lecherous, predatory boss they have to deal with but want to keep their jobs—document everything and tell someone. Still, he was fired. And when he finally told, he was still asked what he could have done differently to prevent the abuse. This says so much about our culture of victim shaming and blaming.
But let’s keep our focus on the most pressing issue here: Donald Trump is a serial sexual predator and abuser. The behavior James Comey testified to experiencing is exactly the behavior of a rapist and a man who does not practice consent. The behavior of a man who admits to grabbing pu**ies without permission. A man that neither men nor women want to be left alone with. This is exactly what happens when a predator is elected president of the United States.
How’s that "locker room talk" working out for the nation now?