Hillary Clinton has said she was shocked and appalled by the revelations about the sexual predatory activities of the Hollywood mogul and Democrat donor Harvey Weinstein. Calling for an end to tolerance of such sexist activities, she added that Donald Trump was a self-confessed sexual assaulter.
Clinton is in Britain to promote her book What Happened, the memoir of her failed attempt to win the 2016 presidential election. Describing the stories about Weinstein as “disgusting and heartbreaking”, she also told BBC One’s Andrew Marr Show: “I really commend the women who have been willing to come forward and tell their stories.”
She said: “It is important we do not just focus on him and whatever consequences flow from his behaviour, but that we recognise that this behaviour cannot be tolerated anywhere, whether it is in entertainment, or politics – after all, we have someone admitting to being a sexual assaulter in the Oval Office. There has to be a recognition that we must stand against this kind of action, which is so sexist and misogynistic.”
Clinton was challenged as to why in her book she had dismissed the three women brought by the Trump campaign to the presidential TV debates who have alleged sexual assault by her husband, Bill. She said: “That had all been litigated. That had been the subject of a huge investigation in the late 90s and there were conclusions drawn. That was clearly in the past, but it is something that has to be taken seriously and not just in entertainment.”
The really sad part of the campaign, she said, was how Trump’s remarks about women were discounted by a lot of voters. “Trump had a very narrow view of women, and is focused on keeping women in their place,” she said, pointing to the way in which he refused to shake the hand of Angela Merkel in the Oval Office, or refused to look her in the eye, but grabbed the hand of Theresa May. He said the disparity showed Trump believes “there are two kind of women. Women I like and I can work with, and then there are women who I am afraid of and might challenge me.”
She largely dismissed suggestions that Michelle Obama or her daughter Chelsea Clinton might run for the presidency.
She added in a separate interview on CNN that she would give back the money Weinstein donated to her campaign and if that was not possible she would donate a similar sum to charity. She said the stories of multiple sexual assaults were a different side to the person she had previously known.
Questions remain as to whether the Clinton Foundation will return sums donated by Weinstein put at between $100,000 (£75,000) and $250,000. The producer personally gave $30,000 to the Hillary Victory Fund and $5,400 to Hillary for America. But the foundation has declined to comment on whether it will return Weinstein’s donations.
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