SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES
Donald Trump, abuse and the modeling industry
May 17, 2016, 2:10 PM
The New York Times ran a piece over the weekend that contends that Donald Trump is abusive to women. I have no doubt women have had a variety of experiences with him; including his being rude and verbally abusive, as well as charming and accommodating. You don’t arrive at his charisma level without being able to play both ends of the equation.
But Trump is a player in the modeling industry. And the entire piece in the New York Times missed something, which is why I do think it was a hit piece. The Times never spoke about the state of the modeling industry. And Trump owns modeling agencies.
The Times piece seems one of selective outrage. Outrage based on a specific time horizon that stinks of opportunism. The New York Times has had years to look into abuse that goes on in the modelling industry and how models are treated. The Trump story would have had more weight and been more believable if the Times would have connected the two stories; Trump abusing women and the abuse of women in the modeling industry.
I find the whole modeling industry distasteful. And Trump is part of this culture. Maybe the New York Times should be looking at that culture. Or maybe Hillary Clinton’s tax returns.