One day after several women reincarnated the narrative of "Trump as sexual predator", early on Tuesday morning President Trump slammed New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand for coming to his office "begging" for donations, and as someone who "would do anything for them." Trump's attack against Gillibrand comes a day after the New York Democrat said Trump should resign from the presidency because of the renewed accusations numerous women have made against him for sexual misconduct.
Speaking to CNN's Christiane Amanpour, Gillibrand said the accusations against Trump are “credible” and should be investigated, and that the president should resign. Just a few hours later, Trump was on Twitter - after taking an unexpected sabbatical from his favorite social network - and calling Gillibrand a “flunky” for Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and a “lightweight” lawmaker. He also made a reference to Gillibrand's statement this month that President Clinton should have resigned from office, calling her "very disloyal" for the former president.
Lightweight Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a total flunky for Chuck Schumer and someone who would come to my office “begging” for campaign contributions not so long ago (and would do anything for them), is now in the ring fighting against Trump. Very disloyal to Bill & Crooked-USED!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 12, 2017
Senator Gillibrand has been a frequent voice against sexual harassment, and made a name for herself in the Senate by pushing for reforms to the military. She's been in the center of the news over the last week as allegations of sexual misconduct against men in politics, entertainment, the media and other fields have washed through the headlines.
Gillibrand, driven by her 2020 presidential ambitions - she is seen by many as a 2020 Democratic candidate for the White House - was the first Democratic senator to call on Sen. Al Franken to resign last week. Last month she said that Clinton should have resigned over the Monica Lewinsky affair.
The remark about Bill Clinton drew a withering response on Twitter from longtime Clinton aide Philippe Reines, who has worked for both Hillary Clinton and the former president. He called Gillibrand a "hypocrite" for taking the Clintons' endorsements, money and seat, as Gillibrand replaced Hillary Clinton as New York's senator.
"Interesting strategy for 2020 primaries. Best of luck," he concluded.
The exchange was duly noted by Trump who said that Gillibrand was "very disloyal to Bill & Crooked-USED!"
That said, Gillibrand wasted little time in responding on Tuesday, and ripped Trump saying he could not silence her.
“You cannot silence me or the millions of women who have gotten off the sidelines to speak out about the unfitness and shame you have brought to the Oval Office,” Gillibrand, who a day earlier had said Trump should resign from office, wrote on Twitter.
You cannot silence me or the millions of women who have gotten off the sidelines to speak out about the unfitness and shame you have brought to the Oval Office. https://t.co/UbQZqubXZv
— Kirsten Gillibrand (@SenGillibrand) December 12, 2017
Trump pushed back against women accusing him of sexual misconduct, insisting Tuesday he's the target of "false accusations and fabricated stories of women who I don't know and/or have never met." Trump lashed out on Twitter a day after three women who previously accused him of sexual harassment shared their stories on NBC's "Megyn Kelly Today."
Despite thousands of hours wasted and many millions of dollars spent, the Democrats have been unable to show any collusion with Russia - so now they are moving on to the false accusations and fabricated stories of women who I don’t know and/or have never met. FAKE NEWS!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 12, 2017
Trump says Democrats "have been unable to show any collusion with Russia" and now are "moving on" to these allegations. He adds: "FAKE NEWS!"
With the Alabama election just a few hours away, and the topic of sexual abuse about to erupt globally should Roy Moore win, we expect that the rotation out of the "Russia Collusion" narrative and into the "Trump is a Sexual Predator" will only accelerate in the coming days.