Despite frequent indictments, jail time, and ousting, the who’s who of sycophants and grifters who cluster in Donald Trump’s wake never seem to thin, no matter how creepy or inappropriate his comments are.
In a recent town hall, hosted by none other than Fox News, Trump attempted to “court” female voters by appealing directly to their policy-driven questions. As usual, all the 78-year-old accomplished was a cringe-worthy response about Senator Katie Britt’s appearance while addressing a serious problem affecting nearly 20% of the population. Oh, and he made every single woman’s skin crawl, so at least he’s got that going for him.
Near the end of the town hall, Trump was asked a question concerning the future of IVF. Women’s healthcare like abortion and IVF hang in the balance after the abolishment of Roe V Wade, particularly in Alabama where the LePage v Center for Reproductive Medicine decision ruled that vitro fertilized eggs were the legal equivalent of living children. It’s made a legal quagmire where fetal personhood is involved, particularly impacting the future legality of IVF.
The question, “If a fertilized embryo is a person, how does that affect IFV” has been haunting the political battleground. The question gave Trump the perfect opportunity to offer a real answer to voters and assuage their fears. Except, he’s incapable of sticking to the topic, and even more incapable of seeing women as anything other than objects he might find appealing.
In response to the query, Trump immediately launched into a personal anecdote, rather than any policy position. Like any good orator, he made sure to identify with his all-female audience by pointing out how “young” and “fantastically attractive” Alabama state Senator Katie Britt is. It’s the sort of thing that would land Kevin at work in an hours-long meeting with HR, but for the former president, it was just another Wednesday.
“So, I got a call from Katie Britt, a young, just a fantastically attractive person from Alabama, she’s a senator. And she called me up like, ‘Emergency, emergency,’ because an Alabama judge had ruled that the IVF clinics were illegal and they have to be closed down — a judge ruled. And she said, ‘Friends of mine came up to me and they were, oh, they were so angry.’ I didn’t even know they were going. You know, they were, it’s fertilization. I didn’t know they were even involved in — no body talks about that — they don’t talk about that. But now that they can’t do it, she said, ‘I was attacked. In a certain way, I was attacked.’ And I said, ‘explain IVF very quickly.’ And within about two minutes I understood it. I said, ‘no, no, we’re totally in favor of IVF.'”
Fertility issues are often kept close to the sufferer’s chest, and many would-be parents are hesitant to publicly acknowledge their conception woes. It makes sense that not everyone is familiar with the emotionally draining process. Unless, of course, they happen to be running for president during an election cycle in which it takes center stage, or if their platform spent the better part of 8 years undermining the process.
The 78-year-old asked Britt to explain IVF, which has been around since 1978, “And within about two minutes I understood it. I said, ‘No, no, we’re totally in favor of IVF.’”
The idea that Trump had no concept of what his party was taking away from everyday people is upsetting enough, but knowing that Britt, a modern-day Stepford wife, was the one who had to educate him, is even worse. We’re almost positive that some other, less attractive person tried to teach Trump at some point, but it’s so hard to take in information that comes from any woman deemed less than a seven.
But don’t worry, Trump’s campaign was quick to douse the misogyny-fueled fire. His campaign’s national press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, told The Independent, “President Trump is loved by millions of women across the country.” Besides, Trump also used the event to declare himself “The father of IVF,” so clearly, the procedure is safe in his hands.
