Donald Trump plans to make former President Bill Clinton’s sexual history come back to haunt him by labelling him as an “abuser” of women.
Yet nearly two decades ago, Trump verbally abused the very people he purports to defend—and even suggested Clinton was a “victim.”
During an August 1998 appearance on Fox News, the real estate mogul was asked about then-President Clinton’s multiple alleged extramarital affairs and sexual harassment cases. Trump proceeded to rail against the Clinton accusers.
“The whole thing, it’s just so unattractive,” the orange-hued demagogue told host Neil Cavuto, according to transcripts. “Linda Tripp may be one of the most unattractive human beings I’ve ever seen—not women, human beings. She’s just an unattractive person. This [Lucianne] Goldberg person, her agent or whatever she is, is just a terrible woman. You look at Paula Jones, I mean the whole cast of characters.”
He added: “It’s like it’s from Hell. It’s a terrible group of people.”
Seconds later, Trump felt the need to reiterate his obsession with their appearance. “The whole group, it’s truly an unattractive cast of characters—Linda Tripp, Lucianne Goldberg—I mean, this woman—I watch her on television, just vomiting. She is so bad. The whole group—Paula Jones, Lewinsky—it’s just a really unattractive group.
“And I’m not just talking about physical, but I am also talking about physical.”
Trump noted, however, that if the accusers were supermodels they “would be more pleasant to watch.”
He also expressed some sympathy for Bubba: “I don’t necessarily agree with his victims. His victims are terrible. He is really a victim himself. But he put himself in that position.”
In recent months Trump has hinted that he will not shy away from the Lewinsky scandal as a way to attack his likely general election opponent, Hillary Clinton.
“She's got one of the great women abusers of all time sitting in her house, waiting for her to come home for dinner,” he said in January. Prior to that, Trump also said that referencing Jones—now a Trump supporter—and Lewinsky would be “fair game.”
