Some Trump cabinet picks are accused of sexual misconduct. What's it mean for #MeToo?
Consider This from NPR
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4.2 • 6.2K Ratings
🗓️ 21 November 2024
⏱️ 12 minutes
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Summary
There's another thing several share: being accused of sexual misconduct. Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth, HHS Secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy, Jr, Elon Musk, who Trump has picked to co-run the Department of Government Efficiency — all these men have faced some variation of accusations of sexual misconduct. All have denied it, or claimed no memory.
Donald Trump's first presidential win helped lay the groundwork for the #MeToo movement. What do his cabinet picks say about the movement today?
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | In 2016, one month before Election Day, a story broke about then-candidate Donald Trump that sent shockwaves through the campaign. |
| 0:09.2 | It was a hot mic moment from 2005, a conversation between Trump and Billy Bush, then host of Access Hollywood. |
| 0:16.3 | And when you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. |
| 0:19.0 | Whatever you want. |
| 0:19.7 | Grab them by the . |
| 0:20.6 | In a statement, after the video surfaced, Trump called his comments locker room banter. |
| 0:27.9 | He apologized, said the words did not reflect who he was. |
| 0:31.3 | But that month, a deluge of women came forward and accused him of sexual misconduct, which |
| 0:36.8 | the Trump campaign broadly denied. |
| 0:39.3 | The fallout from the Access Hollywood tape could have derailed Trump's chances of winning the White House. |
| 0:44.6 | It didn't. |
| 0:45.4 | It is my high honor and distinct privilege to introduce to you the president-elect of the United States of America, Donald Trump. |
| 0:56.6 | Trump won, but conversations about the culture of sexual misconduct didn't die. |
| 1:02.5 | They got louder. |
| 1:03.1 | Now, a blockbuster New York Times story detailing decades of sexual harassment by movie mogul Harvey Weinstein has sent shockwaves through Hollywood. |
| 1:10.7 | Longtime newsman Charlie Rose. |
| 1:12.6 | Danny Masterson. |
| 1:13.6 | The latest media giant to be disgraced in the era of hashtag Me Too. |
| 1:20.0 | The Me Too movement ushered in an era of accountability. |
| 1:24.3 | Millions of women worldwide shared stories of being sexually harassed and abused, particularly |
| 1:30.6 | in the workplace. Prominent men lost their jobs after public allegations were made against |
| 1:36.0 | them. Then in 2019, while Trump was in office, another of his accusers came forward. |
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