It happened. Trump just became the president-elect of the United States, despite the damning audio 2005 recording of him bragging to TV host Billy Bush about sexually assaulting women with impunity.
Bush, meanwhile, was fired from his job.
Trump bragged to Bush that “when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything... Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything.”
“You know I’m automatically attracted to beautiful [women],” Trump also said. “I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait.”
And for a moment, Trump’s gut-churning, boastful admission that he forces himself on women threatened to derail his campaign. Never mind that at that point he had already attacked a Gold Star Family, made racist comments about a judge with Mexican heritage and was responsible for, well... a lot of other abhorrent behavior.
And yet, it was only Bush who was ultimately held accountable for his role in the vulgar conversation. The TV host had since moved on from “Access Hollywood” to NBC’s major money-maker, the “Today” show ― and it took the network a mere 10 days to boot him from the program.
“Let me be clear ― there is simply no excuse for Billy’s language and behavior on that tape,” a memo from the show’s executive producer Noah Oppenheim read, released just after Bush was initially suspended from his job.
Comedian Chelsea Handler was among those who have noted that Bush’s firing and Trump’s ascent to the Oval Office is evidence that media personalities are held to a higher standard than someone running for president.
We are all now collectively left to wonder: How does that possibly make sense?
Before You Go
