Washington, D.C.—Today, Correct The Record Communications Director Elizabeth Shappell released the following statement on Donald Trump’s speech on his childcare plan in Aston, Pennsylvania:
“Tonight, Trump laid out a half-baked ‘maternity leave’ plan that would only help the children of the rich and actually lower wages for working mothers. Let’s be clear: this is not a real paid leave plan. It’s just a political stunt designed to cover up Trump’s history of disrespecting women in the workplace.Trump has insulted, ridiculed and disparaged women for decades and even lied about providing paid leave for his own employees. The Trump campaign is hoping that one fact-free, condescending speech will erase their candidate’s decades-long contempt for working women and their families. Unfortunately for Trump, mass amnesia is not a viable electoral strategy.”
Donald Trump’s Backwards Rhetoric and Practices On Working Women And Sexual Harassment
Donald Trump: “I think that putting a wife to work is a very dangerous thing.” “I think that putting a wife to work is a very dangerous thing. If you’re in business for yourself, I really think it’s a bad idea. I think that was the single greatest cause of what happened to my marriage with Ivana.” [ABC News, 1994]
Donald Trump on working women: “I have days when I think it’s great, and then I have days where if I come home…and dinner’s not ready, I go through the roof, okay?” “I think I’m probably mixed. I have days when I think it’s great, and then I have days where if I come home — you know, 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, okay?” [ABC’s Primetime Live, 3/10/94]
Donald Trump: Pregnancy is “certainly an inconvenience for a business.” TRUMP: “Well, you know, pregnancy is never–it’s a wonderful thing for the woman, it’s a wonderful thing for the husband, it’s certainly an inconvenience for a business. And whether people want to say that or not, the fact is it is an inconvenience for a person that is running a business.” [NBC’s Dateline, 10/3/04]
Donald Trump said a lawyer who requested a medical break to pump breast milk for her infant daughter was “disgusting.” “Donald J. Trump seemed irritated. He had been grilled for two hours in a lawsuit over a failed Florida real estate project, and he told the lawyer that her questions were ‘very stupid.’ When the lawyer, Elizabeth Beck, asked for a medical break, Mr. Trump and his lawyers objected, demanding that the deposition continue. Ms. Beck said it was urgent — she needed to pump breast milk for her 3-month-old daughter, and she took the pump out to make her point. Mr. Trump erupted. ‘You’re disgusting,’ he told Ms. Beck, in a remark that is not disputed by either side. He then walked out of the room, ending the testimony for the day.” [New York Times, 7/28/15]
Donald Trump: If Ivanka was sexually harassed, “I would like to think she would find another career or find another company.” “What if someone had treated Ivanka in the way Ailes allegedly behaved? His reply was startling, even by Trumpian standards. ‘I would like to think she would find another career or find another company if that was the case,’ he said.” [USA Today, 8/1/16]
Donald Trump on workplace sexual harassment: “You can go through the process. You can also change. You can do both. Uh, you can do one, the other, or both.” TRUMP: “You can go through the process [if faced with workplace sexual harassment]. You can also change. You can do both. Uh, you can do one, the other, or both. And I think it depends on the individual. You understand what I mean by that, right?” RUCKER: “Yeah.” TRUMP: “One, the other or both.” RUCKER: “And is there one that’s preferable, in your mind?” TRUMP: “I think it’s gotta be up to the individual. I think it depends on the individual. It also depends on what’s available. There may be a better alternative, then there may not. If there’s not a better alternative, then you stay. But it could be there’s a better alternative where you’re taken care of better. But some people don’t like staying in an atmosphere that was so hostile. You understand that?” [The Washington Post, 8/2/16]
Donald Trump said it was “very sad” that some women were “complaining” about being sexually harassed by Roger Ailes. TODD: “Finally, Roger Ailes? Is he helping you? Is he advising you?” TRUMP: “Well, I don’t want to comment but he’s been a friend of mine for a long time and I can tell you that some of the women that are complaining, I know how much he’s helped them and even recently and when they write books that are fairly recently released and they say wonderful things about him and, now all of a sudden, they are saying these horrible things about him, it’s very sad because he’s a very good person.” [NBC’s Meet The Press, 7/24/16]
Wayne Barrett’s Trump: The Deals and the Downfall: Donald Trump tried to get “Playboy to do a spread called ‘The Girls of Trump,’ wooing his most shapely staffers… into posing for the magazine.” “He even tried to get Playboy to do a spread called ‘The Girls of Trump,’ wooing his most shapely staffers, including a former beauty queen secretary, into posing for the magazine with a sliding scale of offers on everything from full nude to breast to ‘wet-lip’ shots. It was all part of the rakish ethos of phony glamour that he consciously fostered, even to the extent of concealing from public view a very efficient secretary with a pimplish facial condition.” [Trump: The Deals and the Downfall, 1992]
Donald Trump Lied About Childcare Offered To Employees
Associated Press: Donald Trump claimed he offered on-site childcare for his employees, but the programs were for patrons of Trump’s hotels and golf club, “not for Trump’s employees.” “The billionaire real estate mogul, who previously voiced his opposition to government-funded universal pre-K programs, said in Newton, Iowa, in November 2015 that he had visited many companies that offered workers on-site child-care centers — and added that he offered such programs himself. […] But the two programs Trump cited — ‘Trump Kids’ and ‘Trumpeteers’ — are programs catering to patrons of Trump’s hotels and golf club. They are not for Trump’s employees, according to staff at Trump’s hotels and clubs across the country.” [Associated Press, 8/11/16]
Associated Press: There was “no evidence” that Donald Trump provided on-site childcare service for his employees. “When Donald Trump vowed this week to make child care more accessible and affordable, it was just the second time during his White House campaign that he’s talked about an issue that affects millions of working Americans with young children. The first came months ago in Iowa, when the eventual Republican nominee touted his own record as a business owner during a candidate Q&A, telling voters he provided on-site child-care service for his employees. There is no evidence, however, that any such programs exist.” [Associated Press, 8/11/16]