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Wow, Can You Believe This Report That Trump Was A Sexist Pig On 'The Apprentice'?

Ben Yakas

Published Oct 3, 2016

Modified Oct 3, 2016

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Ben Yakas

Published Oct 3, 2016

Modified Oct 3, 2016

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During one of his ritualistic ethylene-influenced rants this weekend, Donald Trump waxed nostalgic about his time on The Apprentice. “Oh, I could be doing The Apprentice right now,” Trump said during a speech in Pennsylvania, seemingly getting caught up in memories of a more pleasant time in his life when less of America actively loathed him. "I loved it — 14 seasons. How good was that? Tremendous success."

But whether or not he wants to acknowledge it, even the happier moments in Trump's life are being systematically tarnished by the lamestream media's 'sources': in today's least surprising investigative story of the day, the AP reports that Trump regularly and repeatedly demeaned women with sexist language while on the show—that included times he would allegedly rate female contestants by the size of their breasts and talk about which ones he'd like to have sex with.

The AP spoke with more than 20 people associated with the show, including crew members and former contestants, about Trump's lewd and lascivious behavior, and painted a portrait of an overgrown horny frat boy who had created the perfect atmosphere to indulge his own petty desires.

Eight crew members all recalled that Trump "repeatedly made lewd comments about a camerawoman he said had a nice rear, comparing her beauty to that of his daughter, Ivanka." Multiple cast members said Trump had female contestants twirl for him so he could ogle them; contestant Gene Folkes said Trump demanded female contestants wear shorter dresses that also showed more cleavage.

Former producer Katherine Walker said Trump was obsessed with discussing women's bodies during her five seasons there, and would speculate about which contestants would be a "tiger in the bed."

Another crew member who signed a non-disclosure agreement recalled that Trump asked male contestants whether they would sleep with a particular female contestant, then jumped in with his own responses: "We were in the boardroom one time figuring out who to blame for the task, and he just stopped in the middle and pointed to someone and said, 'You'd f... her, wouldn't you? I'd f... her. C'mon, wouldn't you?,'" the crew member said. "Everyone is trying to make him stop talking, and the woman is shrinking in her seat."

Randal Pinkett, who won the program in December 2005, said Trump frequently discussed which female contestants he wanted to sleep with: "He was like 'Isn't she hot, check her out,' kind of gawking, something to the effect of 'I'd like to hit that.'"

Accusations of sexism have followed Trump throughout his presidential campaign. Hope Hicks, the Trump campaign spokeswoman, issued a blanket denial to the AP's report without getting into detail: "These outlandish, unsubstantiated, and totally false claims fabricated by publicity hungry, opportunistic, disgruntled former employees, have no merit whatsoever," she said. "The Apprentice was one of the most successful prime-time television shows of all time and employed hundreds of people over many years, many of whom support Mr. Trump's candidacy."

It seems like the overwhelming evidence of Trump's casual misogyny may finally be catching up to him. After last week's debate—in which Hillary Clinton brought up Alicia Machado, the former Miss Universe winner whom Trump called "Miss Piggy" (because she didn't fit his beauty standards) and "Miss Housekeeping" (because she is Latina)—Trump has seen a dip in his poll numbers. Politico writes that Trump's inability to let Machado go, continually mocking her as the week went on, got through to voters:

The episode broke through — 74 percent heard of Trump’s comments about Machado — and it appears to have hurt Trump's standing with women. Fifty-five percent of women said it gives them a less favorable view of Trump, and 43 percent of voters said the incident makes them less likely to support Trump.

Of course, there's still the terrifying thought that 45 percent of female voters in their poll are okay with Trump's disparaging of that woman.

Tagged

donald trump

election 2016

men who have problems with women but don't have the inner life to grapple with it

sexism

the apprentice

Ben Yakas

Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

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