Parenting

Melania Trump Says #MeToo Victims 'Need To Show The Evidence' To Be Believed

by Cassandra Stone
Image via SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images

Melania Trump gives us all a valuable lesson on how NOT to respond to the #MeToo movement

Hoo boy, buckle up for this one. In a new interview, Melania Trump claims women who come forth with allegations of sexual assault need “evidence” in order to be believed. While it’s not at all surprising she would echo the same statements her husband makes, it is hypocritical.

“If you accuse (someone) of something, show the evidence,” Trump says in an interview with ABC News. She says she supports women, but just like her husband, she feels men are under attack and need support too. “I support the women and they need to be heard,” said Trump. “We need to support them and, you know, also men, not just women.”

Melania says that any women who come forward as sexual assault victims should be prepared to back up their claims. Because a woman’s word is worth exactly nothing under the Trump regime. “I do stand with women, but we need to show the evidence. You cannot just say to somebody, ‘I was sexually assaulted,’ or, ‘You did that to me,’ because sometimes the media goes too far, and the way they portray some stories it’s, it’s not correct, it’s not right.”

Uh huh.

You mean, like, oh, say…a recorded tape where a man admits he’s an absolute pig who takes pride and pleasure in grabbing women by their genitals? That kind of evidence? Or just evidence when it’s convenient for your husband and his entire administration, including Supreme Court justices?

And lest we forget, at least 13 women came forward as recently as 2016 to accuse Donald Trump of sexual harassment and assault, in addition to the infamous Access Hollywood tape. And that the recent FBI investigation of Brett Kavanaugh was embarrassingly limited thanks to pressure from the White House, despite there being plenty of ways the investigation could have produced the type of “evidence” that would appease the Trumps.

Short of providing eyewitness testimony or an invasive rape kit performed immediately after a rape, asking victims of sexual assault to gather “evidence” proving their assault is as much a bad faith argument as it is intentionally obtuse.

At this point, expecting a member of the Trump family or administration to possess any redeeming qualities is woefully naive. Melania doesn’t get a pass, either. She doesn’t need to be “rescued” or given the benefit of the doubt anymore. Because, like she herself has told us, she really doesn’t care, does she?