By Adriana Cohen
Boston Herald
WWR Article Summary (tl;dr) Adriana Cohen of the Boston Herald takes a look at the dangerous zone Donald Trump is “weighing” into regarding women.
Boston Herald
Women decide elections.
They make up 53 percent of the electorate and it’s no secret Hillary Clinton has a double-digit lead in the polls over Donald Trump with female voters. The last thing Trump should be discussing is the ballooning weight of a former Miss Universe he reportedly called “Miss Piggy” and “Miss Housekeeping” in 1996. It’s irrelevant.
Commenting on a woman’s weight or looks makes him appear shallow, even if he made the comment 20 years ago when he was just adhering to industry standards where beauty pageant contestants were — surprise! — judged by their beauty and expected to wear bikinis.
It wasn’t an audition for “America’s Top CEO.” Of course it’s perfectly acceptable to be judged by one’s appearance — in a beauty pageant.
Nonetheless, it’s dicey territory and female voters could sink his boat over it if the plainspoken businessman is not careful. We all remember the shellacking Mitt Romney took over his “binders full of women” gaffe that left-leaning media ran with.
If Trump wants to move into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, he should skip the subject altogether given that in the U.S. today 67 percent of American women are a size 14 or larger, according to reports. In fact, most women, if not all Americans, struggle with their weight.
Just ask Trump’s top campaign adviser Chris Christie, who certainly won’t be donning a “mankini” on the Jersey Shore anytime soon. Even the lovable New Jersey governor had to undergo weight-loss surgery to get a handle — on his love handles.
We all remember the controversial first GOP primary debate kerfuffle when Megyn Kelly rattled off a series of disparaging words Trump had allegedly used to describe women over the years — now used by the Clinton camp in attack ads. We also recall the trouble he got into with Carly Fiorina when he said on the campaign trail: “Look at that face. Who could vote for that?” Love or loathe the former Hewlett Packard CEO, many women cringed. Why? Because we want our daughters to be judged by their brain and their contributions to society — not their looks.
Trump should steer clear of the subject — forever.
His campaign manager Kellyanne Conway needs to do an intervention fast. Before sensitive female voters tip the scales … in Clinton’s favor.
Adriana Cohen is co-host of “Herald Drive” airing 6-9 a.m. weekdays on Boston Herald Radio.
