As President Trump is gearing up for his first State of the Union, he is starting to give hints into some of the things he might talk about. Not surprisingly he’s planning on talking about the booming economy, low unemployment rates, the Republican tax bill, etc. More unexpectedly, he is also planning on discussing his influence on the status of women. In an interview with Piers Morgan, Trump made it clear that he would not consider himself a feminist, as he does not support only women. Yet again, it is apparent that he doesn’t fully understand what a feminist is, and the types of things for which they advocate. I have linked both a CNN article and Fox News article to show the comparison between the two news outlets, and their coverage of this particular interview. The CNN article makes sure to point out Morgan’s line of questioning in regards to the recent Women’s March on Washington. Like many other issues, Trump skirts the question with an irrelevant response about crowd sizes. On the other hand, the Fox News article focuses more heavily on Trump’s response to Morgan’s question about how he can show support to women who have been voicing their experiences with #MeToo and the Women’s March. Trump again gave a vague answer, generalizing that women are having successes in all aspects of life.
It seems that Trump has a fantasy picture of women at this moment in history. Yes, women are stronger, and more vocal than ever before, but amid the countless allegations of sexual assault, maybe it’s time to focus more on the values being instilled in today’s men. According to both reports, Trump’s message will be for “building a safe, strong, and proud America.” While I think my political leanings are pretty apparent, this may be a little forward of me…an America with Donald J. Trump as president, a man who has admitted to sexual assault and consistently makes decisions based on petty emotions, will never be safe, strong, or proud.
-Marah Barrow