Trump Defies the #MeToo Movement With Cabinet Picks Facing Accusations

The New York Times ^ | Nov. 19, 2024, 10:27 a.m. ET | Peter Baker

[E. Pluribus Unum]

When he takes the oath of office in January, Donald J. Trump will make history as the first court-adjudicated sexual abuser to assume the presidency. But if he gets the team of his choice, he will not be the only one in the room whose conduct has been called into question.

Mr. Trump, who was found liable in a civil trial last year of accosting a woman, has selected a defense secretary, an attorney general, a secretary of health and human services and an efficiency czar, all of whom have been accused of variations of sexual misconduct and, like the president-elect, deny them.

The rise of the accused to positions of power raises new questions about the future of the #MeToo movement that swept through the country and upended societal expectations in recent years. The kind of accusations that took down titans of Hollywood, Wall Street, Silicon Valley, Washington, the news media, sports and state capitals have proved no obstacle in Mr. Trump’s selection process.

Rather than be deterred by such allegations, Mr. Trump seems determined to force a fight over them. He knew that Matt Gaetz, the renegade Republican congressman, had been accused of all manner of sordid conduct, including sex with an underage girl, but tapped him to run the Justice Department anyway. He may not have known that Pete Hegseth, the Fox News weekend host he named to preside over the Pentagon, had paid a woman who accused him of sexual assault, but has indicated that he will stand by him.

[MNJohnnie]

Innocent until proven guilty. The Atl Left cult’s favorite smear attacks are not going to work with this President

[BlackbirdSST]

If a sex CRIME was committed the women should have two years hours to call the police or it’s just a he said she said...

[PghBaldy]

We have multiple videos of Joe Biden sexually harassing/molesting girls (literally girls, not women) and yet they ran him for POTUS two times!

[Z28.310]

#metoo

...always came across to me as poundmetoo.

[bray]

Is there a below zero credibility?

[lurk]

We learned a lesson from Blasey Ford and Jean Carroll, no evidence necessary.

[enumerated]

Alternate headline:

Politically Motivated Me-Too Movement Exclusively Targets Conservatives, Who Also Naturally Happen to be Trump’s Cabinet Picks.

[BiteYourSelf]

🖕 you new yak times.