Misogyny matters.
When former President Donald Trump came out to speak after his victory in the New Hampshire Republican primary, he was not in a good mood.
He didn’t spend his time thanking the voters of New Hampshire for their support or his team for their good work.
No, he trashed his rival, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. His tirade was unhinged even by his own unstable standards.
He accused her of being an imposter for claiming victory when, in fact, he had won. Given Trump’s history of declaring victory in contests he’d clearly lost, this might have been a case of the pot once again sending a message to the kettle, but for one thing.
Haley began her concession speech by congratulating Trump on his victory.
Haley’s graciousness didn’t mollify him.
Instead, he attacked her attire, her intelligence and her character. He suggested that she was detached from reality. (Kettle, another message from the pot is coming in.)
Not satisfied with demeaning his opponent, the former president lied that he always wins in New Hampshire. In fact, Hillary Clinton claimed a narrow victory there in 2016 and Joe Biden gave him a whipping in the state in 2020.
After Trump left the stage, even some friendly Republican observers wondered what had prompted him to behave in such an undisciplined, almost irrational fashion.
After all, he had racked up a double-digit victory in a tough state, making the odds even longer for Haley in her quest to occupy the Oval Office. Such moments are a reason for celebrations, not temper tantrums.
The speculation was that some of Haley’s jibes about Trump’s mental capacity — the penchant he has shown with increasing frequency for mixing up people, places and even the period of history in which he lives — had gotten under his skin. They thought he was frustrated that he hadn’t done better in New Hampshire — had not delivered the knockout blow he needed to drive Haley from the race.
Maybe.
In addition to being a sore loser, Trump also always has been a bad winner — a man incapable of behaving with dignity even in triumph. Some of his deplorable conduct doubtless was just Trump being Trump.
One senses, though, that a large part of the former president’s rage sprang not just because he was being needled, but that he was being needled by … a woman.
A woman.
Something about being confronted by strong, determined women always has sent Trump ’round the bend.
He’s been sandwiching his campaign stops with visits to a courtroom, where he faces what’s likely to be a stiff judgment in a civil case.
In that case, the court already has determined that Trump defamed and raped writer E. Jean Carroll and slapped a $5 million judgment on him. Trump responded by continuing to attack and defame Carroll — he has continued to do so online even while sitting in the courtroom — which gave Carroll and her attorneys the opportunity to seek additional damages.
Now, the only question before the court is determining how many zeros will be on the check Trump has to write to Carroll.
A smart, mature man would have mastered his mouth and cut his losses.
But the fact that a woman — yes, a woman — decided to hold him accountable for his actions enrages him.
And when he’s enraged, what little discipline and sanity Trump possesses disappear. Even when it’s in his interest to show restraint, he can’t.
Belittling Carroll is likely to cost him millions upon millions of dollars. When Trump faces off against Biden in the fall election, as he almost inevitably will, he will need Haley’s supporters to vote for him if he is to have any chance of winning.
Again, a smart, mature guy would realize that and temper his responses.
But then, a smart, mature guy wouldn’t feel as threatened by smart, determined and talented women as Donald Trump is. A smart, mature guy would be able to accept — and even applaud — their status as equals, even when they are rivals.
Trump can’t do that, which is why he’s likely to alienate the suburban female voters who see Nikki Haley as one of them.
Those are voters the Republican Party needs to win elections.
But the party can’t win over those female voters if Trump leads it. They know a sexist pig when they see one.
Misogyny matters.
John Krull is director of Franklin College’s Pulliam School of Journalism and publisher of TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students, where this commentary originally appeared. The opinions expressed by the author do not reflect the views of Franklin College. Send comments to [email protected].
