Megyn Kelly gently mocks Donald Trump spokesman for canceling over Trump's female accusers
Megyn Kelly noted on Monday's Kelly File that Donald Trump had used his big speech at Gettysburg to threaten lawsuits against women accusing him of sexual assault, that another women came forward anyway with new accusations on Sunday, and that on Monday, Trump said sarcastically that the woman, Jessica Drake, is "a porn star," and "I'm sure she's never been grabbed before." Kelly played that audio clip, then said, "Oh boy."
"Well, the Trump campaign communications adviser Jason Miller, who we like, was set to appear on The Kelly File tonight," she said, "but he canceled not long after the campaign asked us if we would bring this issue up tonight, and we said, 'Maybe. We're going to talk about Trump's speech at Gettysburg, and Trump is the one who brought up suing the women." Kelly then implicitly called Miller a chicken: "Joining me now, Julie Roginsky, who's brave enough to walk onto the set, and even when it's bad news for her candidate, she does as well."
Kelly asked Roginsky, a Democratic strategist, about Trump's comments, and she said dryly, "Well, you know, the slut-shaming, I think, is kind of inappropriate." When Kelly noted that some critics are saying Drake can't really be offended by Trump's allegedly propositioning her for sex since she is paid to have sex on camera, Roginsky said she couldn't speak to Drake's feelings "but I think the forcible kissing is the issue for me."
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"Again, I want to stress, it's her word against his, he deserves the presumption of innocence," Roginsky added. "I look forward to the depositions in his lawsuit when they come out." "No, he's not going to sue anybody, please," Kelly laughed. "By the way, he didn't say — if he's going to sue them after the election, I assume that means only if he loses, otherwise we're going to have a really awkward first 100 days."
Hillary Clinton wants us all to believe she's "so squeaky clean," Kelly said, pivoting, "but she does some dirty stuff, too. So it is not impossible that there was some coordination, at some level, by the Clinton campaign with one or more of these women." "I think this is very much like Bill Cosby, where you have a torrent of women coming out, and one begets the next," Roginsky said, adding that some accusers "have said they're not voting for Hillary, they don't like Hillary, they're Republicans."
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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
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