I guess if millions of American voters can put a man famous for bragging about sexual assault back into the White House, it’s too much to expect his Cabinet appointments to be held to a higher standard.
It seems like an eternity, but it was only seven years ago that the MeToo movement exploded. Supercharged by revelations about Harvey Weinstein’s one-man reign of sexual terror, the moment seemed to signal a permanent change in the way society treats men who harass and assault their colleagues and subordinates.
So many “important” men were pushed from their lofty perches that it would take this entire column to name them all. The sheer number of men on the left and right who considered it their birthright to demean and assault women still shocks the conscience. It seemed that we’d come to a consensus as a society that men who cross boundaries of decency should pay a hefty price, even losing jobs, no matter their political affiliations.
Why is it, then, that credibly accused sex offenders or harassers are being considered for some of the most important jobs in the country, if not the world?
It’s bad enough that men such as Elon Musk, Matt Gaetz, Pete Hegseth and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are believed by so many people to be unqualified for the jobs President-elect Donald Trump wants them to do. Worse yet, they have all been accused of sexual misconduct.
Gaetz, who withdrew his name from consideration as attorney general under pressure last week, has been investigated by the Department of Justice and the House Ethics Committee for alleged criminal behavior that includes sex trafficking involving underage girls. He denies any wrongdoing and has not been charged with a crime, although his buddy Joel Greenberg is serving an 11-year prison term after pleading guilty to, among other crimes, sex trafficking a minor, stalking, wire fraud and identity theft.
Hegseth, the Fox News star who has been nominated for defense secretary, paid off a woman who accused him of raping her in a Monterey hotel room in 2017. Last week, Monterey police released a 22-page report on the alleged assault, which did not lead to criminal charges and which Hegseth denies. But it did lead to a settlement and nondisclosure agreement.
Kennedy, the anti-vaxxer nominated to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, was accused this year of groping and harassing a young woman who worked for him as a live-in babysitter in 1999. After she went public, Kennedy texted her that he had no memory of the events she described. “I apologize sincerely for anything I ever did that made you feel uncomfortable or anything I did or said that offended you or hurt your feelings,” he wrote.
Musk, whom Trump has put in charge of streamlining the federal government, is the defendant in a lawsuit filed by eight former SpaceX employees who claim they were fired in retaliation for raising concerns about sexual harassment and discrimination at the company. The Insider reported that SpaceX paid a flight attendant $250,000 in 2018 to settle a sexual misconduct claim after she accused him of exposing himself to her and offering to buy her a horse in exchange for an erotic massage. He has denied the accusations.
We’re at a point in our history when men behaving badly toward women is not just excused but accepted and, it seems to me, even prized in certain circles. Call it the revenge of the bros.
A Pew Research Center study this year found that nearly 40% of young adults ages 18 to 29 say they get their news from online influencers, who are overwhelmingly male and lean right. And 65% of those who get their news from influencers say it helps shape their understanding of news and politics. That’s especially scary when you think of how many Trump-friendly men, like Joe Rogan, Theo Von, Adin Ross and Andrew Schulz, have millions of followers.
I am not going to argue that journalists are more likely than podcasters to hold politicians’ feet to the fire when they lie, because I shouldn’t have to. You know they are. And it’s why politicians would always rather be interviewed by a popular podcaster than a network or cable news anchor.
In fact, Bloomberg described Rogan’s interviews in general — and specifically with Trump, who spent three hours on Rogan’s program in the waning days of the presidential campaign — as “chummy, digressive, conspiratorial, adulatory and rarely oppositional.”
On the podcast, Trump spewed his usual lies about the 2020 election, immigration, foreign policy, Vice President Kamala Harris — at least 32 false claims by CNN’s estimate — and was basically slobbered over by Rogan.
“I liked how you called them ‘little rocket man’” was a typically incisive Rogan comment, in response to Trump talking about his close relationship with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.
Happily, the rise of the “your body, my choice” bro culture does not sit well with many young women.
The San Francisco-based polling firm Change Research found that young American voters have a larger gender gap than any other generation. In 2023, the firm found that more than half of millennial and Gen Z women reported that they would consider it a red flag if their male partner listened to Rogan. Other red flags included a male partner saying there are only two genders or using the phrase “All lives matter.”
And maybe those of us who are disgusted that the Trump administration is shaping up as a haven for men who mistreat women will take some solace in this: The vast majority of young women — 76% — said it was a red flag if a male partner identified as a MAGA Republican.
I hate to put the burden on young women, but sisters rising up against sexism could save us yet.
Bluesky: @rabcarian.bsky.social. Threads: @rabcarian
