Donald Trump interrupts and bullies the people he debates. That’s part of how he won the Republican debates. As Libby Nelson at Vox put it aptly, in his fights, “The point wasn’t to get them to concede a policy point to him, but to establish that Trump was the one who should be allowed to talk.”
So when he debated Hillary Clinton on Monday night, Trump — who is not a polite man — interrupted her repeatedly. Because Hillary Clinton is a woman and Donald Trump is a male Republican, this was chalked up to sexism.
At Vox.com, Dara Lind wrote that Trump’s interruptions of Clinton were signs of “sexism.” Emily Cahn at Mic.com wrote “it was Donald Trump’s sexism that left perhaps the most indelible mark Monday night, as the Republican nominee patronized, interrupted and demeaned Hillary Clinton — and other women — throughout the 90-minute debate.”
At Newsweek, Lucy Clarke-Billings wrote, “DONALD TRUMP INTERRUPTED HILLARY CLINTON 51 TIMES DURING ‘SEXIST’ PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE.”
Trump’s misogyny did come to light in the debate when Clinton highlighted Trump’s demeaning and cruel treatment of a beauty queen. But when a guy who rudely interrupts everyone he debates then interrupts a woman he debates, how is that sexism?
One possibility: We expect men to treat women with more respect than they treat men. I agree with this norm, but that’s kind of old-fashioned, and arguably “sexist.”
Another possibility: Everything gets called sexist these days.
Timothy P. Carney, The Washington Examiner’s senior political columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]. His column appears Tuesday and Thursday nights on washingtonexaminer.com.
