Sen. Claire McCaskill offered no apologies for a “joke” she tweeted this week that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump should submit to daily weigh-ins in public because she’s concerned he’s gaining weight.
On Fox News Sunday, McCaskill said she was trying to make a joke about Trump and treat him the way he allegedly treated former Miss Universe Alicia Machado. Trump’s treatment of Machado following her victory as Miss Universe in 1996, which included forcing her to work out in front of the press because she had gained weight, has been a focus of the presidential campaign this week.
On Wednesday, McCaskill tweeted, “The D women Senators have talked & we’re concerned about Donald’s weight. Campaign stress? We think a public daily weigh-in is called for.”
The D women Senators have talked & we’re concerned about Donald’s weight. Campaign stress? We think a public daily weigh-in is called for.
— Claire McCaskill (@clairecmc) September 28, 2016
“Well, obviously that was a joke and we were all laughing about it and talked about the tweet before I sent it out,” McCaskill told host Chris Wallace.
“We were trying to make light of a situation that, quite frankly, has a serious side to it, which is how he’s used women, how he objectifies women.”
McCaskill said her colleagues in the Senate are “wringing their hands” over the prospect of a Trump presidency.
Republicans have been trying to convince themselves that Trump will surround himself with good advisers who will be able to curb his worst impulses. McCaskill said this past week — rife with the Machado controversy, Trump tweeting at bizarre hours and the GOP nominee announcing his plans to go after the Clintons’ marriage issues against campaign staffers’ advice — shows that’s not true.
“He is not listening to the people around him because everyone around him is saying, ‘Don’t go there Donald. Lay off the beauty queen. Lay off the personal marriage situation of the Clintons,'” she said. “But he is paying no attention.”
