Get the latest news that you care about most in your inbox every week by signing up for our newsletters.
Opinion
The following is presented as part of The Columbian’s Opinion content, which offers a point of view in order to provoke thought and debate of civic issues. Opinions represent the viewpoint of the author. Unsigned editorials represent the consensus opinion of The Columbian’s editorial board, which operates independently of the news department.
Abcarian: Trump picks represent revenge of the bros
By Robin Abcarian
Published: December 2, 2024, 6:01am
Share:
I guess if millions of American voters can put a man famous for bragging about sexual assault back into the White House, it’s too much to expect his Cabinet appointments to be held to a higher standard.
It seems like an eternity, but it was only seven years ago that the #MeToo movement exploded. So many “important” men were pushed from their lofty perches that it would take this entire column to name them all. The number of men on the left and right who considered it their birthright to demean and assault women still shocks the conscience. It seemed that we’d come to a consensus as a society that men who cross boundaries of decency should pay a hefty price, even losing jobs, no matter their political affiliations.
Why is it, then, that credibly accused sex offenders or harassers are being considered for some of the most important jobs in the country, if not the world?
It’s bad enough that men such as Elon Musk, Matt Gaetz, Pete Hegseth and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are believed by so many people to be unqualified for the jobs President-elect Donald Trump wants them to do. Worse yet, they have all been accused of sexual misconduct.
Gaetz, who withdrew his name from consideration as attorney general, has been investigated by the Department of Justice and the House Ethics Committee for alleged criminal behavior that includes sex trafficking involving underage girls. He denies any wrongdoing and has not been charged with a crime, although his buddy Joel Greenberg is serving an 11-year prison term after pleading guilty to, among other crimes, sex trafficking a minor, stalking, wire fraud and identity theft.
Hegseth, a Fox News star who has been nominated for defense secretary, paid off a woman who accused him of raping her in a hotel room in 2017. The alleged assault did not lead to criminal charges but did lead to a settlement and nondisclosure agreement.
Kennedy, an anti-vaxxer nominated to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, was accused this year of groping and harassing a young woman who worked for him as a live-in babysitter in 1999.
Musk, whom Trump has put in charge of streamlining the federal government, is the defendant in a lawsuit filed by eight former SpaceX employees who claim they were fired in retaliation for raising concerns about sexual harassment and discrimination at the company. The Insider reported that SpaceX paid a flight attendant $250,000 in 2018 to settle a sexual misconduct claim after she accused Musk of exposing himself to her and offering to buy her a horse in exchange for an erotic massage. He has denied the accusations.
We’re at a point in our history when men behaving badly toward women is not just excused but accepted and, it seems to me, even prized in certain circles. Call it the revenge of the bros.
A Pew Research Center study this year found that nearly 40 percent of young adults ages 18 to 29 say they get their news from online influencers, who are overwhelmingly male and lean right. And 65 percent of those who get their news from influencers say it helps shape their understanding of news and politics.
Happily, the rise of the “your body, my choice” bro culture does not sit well with many young women.
Polling firm Change Research found that young American voters have a larger gender gap than any other generation. In 2023, the firm found that more than half of millennial and Gen Z women reported that they would consider it a red flag if their male partner listened to Joe Rogan. Other red flags included a male partner saying there are only two genders or using the phrase “All lives matter.”
And maybe those of us who are disgusted that the Trump administration is shaping up as a haven for men who mistreat women will take some solace in this: The vast majority of young women — 76 percent — said it was a red flag if a male partner identified as a MAGA Republican.
I hate to put the burden on young women, but sisters rising up against sexism could save us yet.
