Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images.
21. Donald Trump’s Twitter Tirades
Over the years, Donald Trump has made his penchant for tweeting with reckless abandon known. Whether it’s midday or 2 A.M., you can count on the Republican nominee sharing his thoughts. Though in past years, it was unsurprising to see him commenting on celebrity break-ups or body-shaming, as a potential president he hasn’t really changed that attitude.
During the first presidential debate, the subject of former Miss Universe winner Alicia Machado came up. Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton pointed out Trump’s long history of mistreating women, with his body-shaming of Machado as an example. Yet, in response, Trump decided to attack Machado again on twitter:
Did Crooked Hillary help disgusting (check out sex tape and past) Alicia M become a U.S. citizen so she could use her in the debate?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 30, 2016
Almost as difficult to believe as the fact that the tweet is still up, is its content. It’s hard to know where to begin. Setting aside that Machado became a citizen before Trump became the Republican nominee, the insults are more shocking than the accusation. Not only did he double down on demeaning this woman twenty years on, he encouraged people pry into her sexual history. When has a presidential candidate ever issued the statement: “Check out sex tape?”
In the final stretch of the election, it’s rumoured that Donald Trump’s twitter won’t be his own anymore. Maybe that’s a strategy that should’ve began much sooner.