As the nation prepares to celebrate its 241st birthday on the Fourth of July, its leader President Donald J. Trump is at war. President Trump continues his offensive on women. This article delves into his shameful history and questionable track record.

This goes back a long time

Long before being elected as the 45th President of the United States of America, Donald Trump was fighting along this battle-line. President Trump’s penchant for misogyny and sexism is globally renowned dating as far back as the 1980s. During that time period, Trump was a real-estate mogul and hotshot. Louise Sunshine was an employee of the Trump Organization from 1973-1985, during which time she claimed that Trump kept an unflattering photograph (a fat picture) of her which he used whenever she made a mistake. Of course, Mr. Trump vehemently denied such an accusation, calling the story “totally false and ridiculous.”

In a September 1990 Vanity Fair article, Mr. Trump had this to say about his then wife, Ivana:

The 1990s

In 1991, Trump was famously quoted as saying of journalists, “You know, it doesn’t really matter what [they] write as long as you’ve got a young and beautiful piece of ass.”

In 1994, Trump had a wide-ranging interview with ABC News. During this interview aired in March 1994, Trump compared women in his life to a building that he owns.

“I love creating stars. And to a certain extent, I’ve done that with Ivana. To a certain extent, I’ve done that with Marla. And I like that. Unfortunately, after they’re a star, the fun is over for me,” Trump continued. “It’s like a creation process, it’s almost like creating a building. It’s pretty sad.”

Trump shared his thoughts on women having careers while still in his life. He said, “I have days where I think it’s great. And then I have days where, if I come home — and I don’t want to sound too much like a chauvinist — but when I come home and dinner’s not ready, I go through the roof.” Trump blamed the end of his marriage to Ivana on the fact that she was in a management position in the Trump Castle Casino.

“I think that putting a wife to work is a very dangerous thing,” Trump said. “If you’re in business for yourself, I really think it’s a bad idea to put your wife working for you. I think it’s a really bad idea. I think that was the single greatest cause of what happened to my marriage with Ivana. There was a great softness to Ivana, and she still has that softness, but during this period of time, she became an executive, not a wife.”

In his 1997 book, Trump: The Art of the Comeback, Trump found it prudent to outline a defense of reports of women turning him down. Two such women were pop legend Madonna, and Olympic figure skating champion Katarina Witt. The L.A. Times covered the story and this is an excerpt;

Anyway, more than a few women have, shall we say, noticed all those tasty assets. Oh, yes. And Trump’s green eyes, of course. Or blue. Or brown. Whatever.

One of them was Madonna, whom he met at a dinner at the Plaza and did not ask out and was not turned down. Despite press reports to the contrary. Got that?

Same goes for skater Katarina Witt. When he kept reading press reports of his spurning, Trump didn’t get mad. He wrote to People magazine:

The immaturity was staggering. Trump was critical about New Yorker editor Tina Brown, because she promised him good press but gave him something else. “Tina Brown is the worst,” he said. “She’s totally overrated. I think she’s third-rate at best. If you look at Vanity Fair, it’s a better magazine today than when she ran it.”

Then came the battle with Rosie

Rosie O’Donnell is an outspoken comedienne and former television host. During the 2000’s O’Donnell was a co-host of the television show “The View”. One such issue was Trump’s handling of Miss USA Tara Connor, following some damning revelations. Trump was at the time a co-owner of the Miss USA pageant. After explaining his reasoning, O’Donnell (the next day on The View) went on the offensive.

Stating that Trump was “not a self-made man” rather “snake-oil salesman on Little House On The Prairie.” O’Donnell drew the ire of Trump when she said, “Trump left the first wife — had an affair. [He] had kids both times, but he’s the moral compass for 20-year-olds in America. Donald, sit and spin, my friend.”

Those words did not sit kindly with Trump who in an interview with People Magazine fired back.

Trump went on to call her, “a woman out of control”. Of course, he did not stop there, and in 2011 when O’Donell announced her engagement Trump pounced on Twitter.

I feel sorry for Rosie 's new partner in love whose parents are devastated at the thought of their daughter being with @Rosie–a true loser. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 14, 2011

During the 2012 election campaign, Trump, while criticizing Cher on Twitter, took another opportunity to jab at O’Donnell.

.@Cher attacked @MittRomney. She is an average talent who is out of touch with reality. Like @Rosie O'Donnell, a total loser! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 10, 2012

Finally in 2014, Trump said this of O’Donnell.

Rosie is crude, rude, obnoxious and dumb – other than that I like her very much! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 11, 2014

Trump on the Campaign Trail

On the political hustings, Candidate Trump was no different. During a Republican debate, Trump was in rare form. When asked about the use of derogatory words (such as slobs, fat pigs, and disgusting animals) towards women in the past by Moderator Megyn Kelly, Trump fired back quickly. “Only Rosie O’Donnell”, he said to gasps and applause. Trump made it clear that this was his way of communicating. Trump furthermore went on the offensive about Kelly saying, “You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes… Blood coming out of her wherever.”

Trump was offensive even to his contemporaries in the Republican party. In an article for the Rolling Stone magazine, Trump again chose to be careless with his words. On opponent/rival Carly Fiorina, writer Paul Solotaroff got this direct quote. “Look at that face! Would anyone vote for that?” Trump said to Solotaroff. “Can you imagine that, the face of our next president. I mean, she’s a woman, and I’m not s’posed ta say bad things, but really, folks, come on. Are we serious?”

Trump even Tweeted on Ted Cruz’s wife, Heidi

To any logical thinking adult, this action by candidate Trump was juvenile. He proved yet again his immaturity and apparent lack of impulse control. Cruz to his credit was very mature in his reply. On Twitter, Cruz wrote: “Donald, real men don’t attack women. Your wife is lovely, and Heidi is the love of my life.”

Latest feud with Morning Joe and MSNBC

Fast forward to this week. Morning Joe co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski has been critical of the President over the past few months. Brzenzinski, in particular, questioned President Trump’s mental health recently saying “[President Trump is] such a narcissist, it’s possible that he is mentally ill in a way.” Then on Thursday’s show, Brzezinski and Scarborough raised questions about the President appearing to sideline Rex Tillerson and have his (Trump’s) son-in-law Jared Kushner act as de facto Secretary of State.

Brzezinski was particularly severe saying, President Trump’s behavior was unlike any president in recent history. “Let’s say someone came to NBC and took over NBC and started tweeting wildly about people’s appearances, bullying people, talking about people in the competition, lying every day, undermining his managers, throwing them under — the person would be thrown out,” Brzezinski said. “It’s just not normal behavior. In fact, there would be concern that perhaps the person who runs the company is out of his mind.”

This was too much. The President’s social media account tweeted “#DumbAsARockMika and lover #JealousJoe are lost, confused & saddened since @POTUS stopped returning their calls! Unhinged.” Then President Trump tweeted from his private account.

I heard poorly rated @Morning_Joe speaks badly of me (don't watch anymore). Then how come low I.Q. Crazy Mika, along with Psycho Joe, came.. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 29, 2017

…to Mar-a-Lago 3 nights in a row around New Year's Eve, and insisted on joining me. She was bleeding badly from a face-lift. I said no! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 29, 2017

The reaction was as expected, swift and thorough condemnation. However, the White House tried to defend it. Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, “I don’t think that it’s a surprise to anybody that he fights fire with fire. They didn’t elect somebody to sit back and do nothing,” Sanders said of voters. “They knew what they were getting when they voted for Donald Trump and he won overwhelmingly.” The First Lady, Melania Trump who stated her main focus was to fight cyber-bullying was quiet on this matter. A spokesperson for the First Lady referred reporters to a 2016 statement by Mrs. Trump saying, “When you attack him, he will punch back 10 times harder. No matter who you are, a man or a woman, he treats everyone equal.”

For her part Brzezinski responded in kind:

MSNBC vociferously defended its hosts. MSNBC released a statement saying in part: “It’s a sad day for America when the president spends his time bullying, lying, and spewing petty personal attacks instead of doing his job.” Mark Kornblau, the NBCUniversal News Group’s senior vice president for communications, tweeted: “Never imagined a day when I would think to myself, ‘it is beneath my dignity to respond to the President of the United States.’ ”

Even Jerry Springer shared his displeasure

I'm sorry, but Trump's behavior is not just beneath the dignity of the Presidency…but that of any decent man. — Jerry Springer (@jerryspringer) June 30, 2017

Every day, I'm presented with someone who acts inappropriately. Why would anyone think that behavior belongs in the White House? — Jerry Springer (@jerryspringer) June 30, 2017

Final Thoughts

In closing, like all bullies real and imaginary, President Donald J. Trump preys on the perceived weak members in society. His misogyny is legendary as evidenced by all that’s been outlined in this article. Also, there was the infamous Billy Bush interview where he said words not worth repeating. It is sad that a nation chose Trump to be its leader in what is a very challenging period. Most relevant, Trump shows time and again the ability to be disrespectful towards women. When will society simply say enough? A bully’s reign often stops when the victim stands up and fights. Deputy Press Secretary Huckabee Sanders said the nation wanted a fighter; however, did it want a fighter who preys on its own women?

There are so many pressing issues at hand. Healthcare is a major issue as the ruling party obviously knows. Immigration is another. Foreign policy–what is this President’s agenda with respect to matters abroad? Social Issues are still a huge issue. One can only hope that the President stops acting petty, grows up quickly and tries to lead this country forward. However, based on an almost 40-year track record, it’s safe to presume that Donald J. Trump is searching out his next female victim to try and prey on. Happy Independence Day to all.