President Donald Trump’s claim that #MeToo prevents him for using a phrase is his latest volley against the movement. | Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images White House Trump mocks ‘rules’ of #MeToo during rally

President Donald Trump joked about #MeToo on Wednesday night, saying the movement has made it improper to use the phrase “the woman who got away.”

“Every Republican thinks they are going to win Pennsylvania, but I got it,” Trump said at a political rally in Erie, Pa., during a long recitation of the 2016 election and the various states he won en route to capturing the presidency.


“I would use an expression — you know there’s an expression, but under the rules of #MeToo, I’m not allowed to use that expression anymore,” he said. “I can’t do it. It’s the person who got away.”

Trump’s claim that #MeToo prevents him for using the phrase is his latest volley against the movement, which became a force after sexual assault allegations against former film producer Harvey Weinstein surfaced last year. Generally speaking, the movement has been focused on sexual assault and misconduct, as well as addressing broader societal misogyny.

Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s recent confirmation hearings renewed attention to the topic as the Senate considered Christine Blasey Ford’s accusation that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her. The president told reporters the notion that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted someone and that the allegations from Ford and other women could be taken as fact made this a “very scary time for young men in America.”

