Is Donald Trump a sexist SOB?

I find the Donald Trump/Megyn Kelly dust-up interesting for a whole host of reasons other than what people focused on after the debate. To bring you up to speed, Megyn Kelly is a Fox News host who asked Trump about his insults directed at women. I’ll get to the merits of the question in a moment. Trump responded afterward on another network by saying Kelly was so angry “you could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever.” Many took that as a reference to her menstruating. Trump claims he meant blood coming out of her nose or ears.

I’m here to explain why it doesn’t matter where he insinuated the blood was coming from. 

Let’s review Trump’s record of insults. He’s called John McCain a “dummy.” He says Karl Rove is “a total loser.” He’s insulted Rick Perry, Gov. Abbott of Texas, Jeb Bush, Lindsay Graham. What do all these people have in common? They insulted Trump first. Oh, and he called Rosie O’Donnell a “slob.” For that the mainstream media labeled Trump a misogynist. That’s someone who hates women, by the way. Did you know there really is no word for women who hate men? Is that sexist?

That’s really my point in all of this. I’m not defending Donald Trump, mind you. He’s certainly capable of doing that himself and he doesn’t need my help. I just want to focus on the hypocrisy. Women want to be treated as equals, and rightfully so. Then why is everyone all up in arms because Megyn Kelly is being treated just like Trump treats every other man?

You can’t say that you want equal rights for women then call Trump a misogynist for doing it. And it’s important to note that everyone’s been fuming about Trump’s comments regarding Megyn Kelly except for one person: Megyn Kelly.

Now, to the debate question that set all this off. Megyn Kelly’s questions, in general, were designed to embarrass the candidates, not enlighten the voters. She said to Trump, “You’ve called women you don’t like ‘fat pigs,’ ‘dogs,’ ‘slobs,’ and ‘disgusting animals.’ Trump interjected, “Only Rosie O’Donnell.” Turns out, he was right. It also turns out that Rosie started the feud back in 2006 when she referred to Trump as a “snake-oil salesman” with the “moral compass of 20-year-olds in America.” From there, it degenerated into a back and forth with Rosie certainly throwing as many punches as Trump.

Kelly went on to ask Trump, “And how will you answer the charge from Hillary Clinton who was likely to be the Democratic nominee, that you are part of the ‘war on women’?” It’s like asking a candidate, “Have you stopped beating your wife yet?” It was a “gotcha” question. She did the same thing to Scott Walker and Ben Carson. She asked questions that were designed to make them squirm, not elucidate their positions on the issues. She defended the questions as being tough and they were that, but they were tough only in the sense that they made the candidates uncomfortable.

The complaint about having Trump on the stage was that the debate would take on the feel of a reality TV show. Ironically, it was the questions from the moderators that contributed to that atmosphere, not Trump.

Politics is a contact sport. I’m thrilled so many women have chosen to participate but everyone should understand that there aren’t two sets of rules for men and women. As the saying goes, you wrestle with a pig, you’re going to get dirty. 

Phil Valentine is the host of the award-winning, nationally syndicated talk radio show, The Phil Valentine Show.