While attacking Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris of California on Friday, President Donald Trump seemed hung up on the fact that if she were elected vice president, she would have the potential to become the country's first woman president.
Speaking at a campaign rally in Florida, Trump insisted that this can't be allowed to happen, though at first he didn't say why. But then he moved on to the complaint that Harris is supposedly a socialist — a claim that any actual socialist would tell you is not true. (He also mispronounced her name, for an extra insult.)
"By the way, Kamala will not be your first female president," he said. "She will not be your first female president. That's not the way it's supposed to be. We're not going to have a socialist — look, we're not going be a socialist nation, we're not going to have a socialist president."
Then, cracking a smile and stifling a laugh, he added: "Especially a female socialist president. We're not going to have it. We're not going to put up with it. It's not going to happen."
Of course, even if you object to socialism, there's no reason to object to having a female socialist president as compared to a male socialist president. It should make no difference. There's nothing inherently different, or "especially" worse, or laughable, about having a female socialist as compared to a male socialist as president. Unless, that is, you take the misogynistic view that women are somehow intrinsically inferior to men or unsuited for the job of president. Only then does Trump's comment make any sense.
Many have argued, of course, that there's plenty of evidence that Trump is an extreme misogynist. And he just let slip what he really thinks about the idea of having a woman as president. Though really, it should be no surprise.
You can watch the clip below via Twitter:
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