In a captivating op-ed in The New York Times, Charles M. Blow offered a stunning and unique take on Melania Trump’s stance amid the ongoing Trump-Stormy Daniels saga.
According to Blow, “Melania knew exactly the kind of man she was getting.”
Blow describes the circumstances leading up to Donald and Melania’s marriage—the fact that he took Melania’s number at a New York Fashion Week party while he was out on a date with another woman. Not quite a foundation of honesty.
Per Blow, “He is also in the process of divorcing Marla Maples, his second wife, with whom he had had an affair while still married to his first wife, Ivana Trump.” In other words, his fidelity was glaringly tenuous at best.
Shortly after proposing to Melania at the Met Gala in April 2004 came the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape, in which Trump can be heard bragging about sexually assaulting women, grabbing them, and kissing them without their content.
“When you’re a star they let you do it. You can do anything,” he said.
Around that time, Blow also outlines Trump’s other sordid behavior and words, including a Howard Stern show appearance where he seemed to ogle his own daughter, Ivanka. These aren’t the words of a man with any integrity—or restraint.
Shortly after their child, Barron, was born in March 2006 came the Stormy Daniels affair, which – Daniels alleges – continued “well into the year 2007.”
“And through it all, Melania has remained. So, that’s their marriage. They clearly have some sort of understanding, some emotional elasticity — or financial dependency — that is beyond my comprehension,” Blow writes.
Blow concludes by outlining the damage that Trump has unilaterally caused even in the heart of the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements, followed by a call to action to reclaim some propriety, honor, and character in a nation that seems to have lost it amid the turmoil that is the Trump administration.
“Yes, there have been some political resignations, but primarily among people who have confessed to their sins. But among the men like Trump who deny the accusations, little has been done. Indeed, Trump has made a habit of defending such men, using the forcefulness of their denials as proof of innocence. Trump himself has been accused of sexual misconduct by 19 women.
America, this is not about partisanship; this is about principle. Each of us must proclaim that this situation is over the line, that women matter, that their voices and their stories matter, that propriety, honor and character matter.”
Read the entire op-ed here.
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