A Pattern of Presidential Misogyny
During a Thanksgiving holiday when many Americans were reflecting on gratitude, former President Donald Trump was hunched over his keyboard, unleashing a torrent of abuse against his perceived enemies. This behaviour has become increasingly normalised in American politics, but what stands out is Trump's particular venom towards female journalists who dare to challenge him.
Thanksgiving Insults and Beyond
On Thanksgiving Day, Trump posted a lengthy rant on Truth Social about immigration that included an ableist slur against Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and an Islamophobic jab at Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, whom he described as "always wrapped in her swaddling hijab". The same day, he verbally attacked a female journalist asking about suspects in an attack on National Guard members, demanding: "Are you stupid? Are you a stupid person?"
This incident was far from isolated. Just one day earlier, Trump had targeted New York Times reporter Katie Rogers after she co-wrote a piece examining how the 79-year-old is increasingly showing his age. In a Truth Social post, Trump singled out Rogers while ignoring her male co-author, writing: "The writer of the story, Katie Rogers, who is assigned to write only bad things about me, is a third rate reporter who is ugly, both inside and out."
The pattern continued earlier in November when Trump called ABC News correspondent Mary Bruce "a terrible person" after she had the temerity to ask Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman about the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. In the same week, he jabbed his finger at Bloomberg White House correspondent Catherine Lucey and snapped: "Quiet, piggy" when she asked about the Epstein files.
The Ripple Effect of Presidential Abuse
This isn't merely about the president and his staff being rude to a handful of female journalists. When Trump insults these women, he opens them up to harassment from his acolytes and sends a clear message about his attitude toward both press freedom and women's equality.
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung appears keen to follow Trump's lead. When New Yorker writer Jane Meyer commented on X that the attack on National Guardsmen was "so tragic, so unnecessary", Cheung responded: "Jane, respectfully, shut the fuck up for trying to politicize this tragedy."
Mary Trump, the former president's niece and vocal critic, believes his escalating misogynistic attacks indicate both increasing comfort with such behaviour and that "he's a little rattled" because pressure is getting to him. Cheung responded to this analysis by calling Mary Trump a "stone-old loser".
Why Trump Faces Few Consequences
Trump appears to suffer minimal consequences for these gendered attacks. Despite being legally defined as a sexual predator by a New York jury, analysis shows that a majority of white women supported Trump in the 2024 election, and he actually increased his support among female voters compared to both 2020 and 2016.
This political reality enables Trump's behaviour and raises concerns about the direction of American democracy. The former president, who has frequently referred to himself as a "king", seems to aspire toward the media environment of Mohammed bin Salman's Saudi Arabia, where journalists live under heavy surveillance and critical tweets can lead to imprisonment.
While the United States hasn't reached that point yet, Trump's escalating attacks on female journalists - and his supporters' willingness to overlook them - suggest the country is moving in a dangerous direction regarding both gender equality and press freedom.
