The floodgates are now breaking for Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump. There are now some seven women who are coming forward, giving out their names, accusing him of sexual assault over the years. His campaign now threatens to turn Bill Clinton “into Bill Cosby” by bringing women forward to tell their tales. That is unlikely to deflect from the women coming forward (and attorney Gloria Allred taking it all in and any day now likely to have some more to add to this story) about him.

This first person account by a People Magazine writer named Natasha Stoynoff is especially harrowing. The context: she had gone to Mar-a-Lago to interview Trump and wife Melania on their first wedding anniversary. Here’s part of it:

We walked into that room alone, and Trump shut the door behind us. I turned around, and within seconds he was pushing me against the wall and forcing his tongue down my throat.

Now, I’m a tall, strapping girl who grew up wrestling two giant brothers. I even once sparred with Mike Tyson. It takes a lot to push me. But Trump is much bigger — a looming figure — and he was fast, taking me by surprise and throwing me off balance. I was stunned. And I was grateful when Trump’s longtime butler burst into the room a minute later, as I tried to unpin myself.
The butler then entered to say Melania would soon be down. So it stopped.

Then the butler left and:

The butler left us, and I fumbled with my tape recorder. Trump smiled and leaned forward.

“You know we’re going to have an affair, don’t you?” he declared, in the same confident tone he uses when he says he’s going to make America great again. “Have you ever been to Peter Luger’s for steaks? I’ll take you. We’re going to have an affair, I’m telling you.” He also referenced the infamous cover of the New York Post during his affair with Marla Maples.

“You remember,” he said. “‘Best Sex I Ever Had.’ ”

Read the full story here.

Trump and his campaign have so far denied all the allegations (which likely means Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh will label all of the women liberal Hillary Clinton supporters to deflect the charge).

Trump has vulgarized, polluted, polarized and undermined so many aspects and norms of our political system. And each time he does, after outrage dies down, he has gotten a pass for his outrages. It becomes the new normal, which future politicians (or kids) can now assume they can emulate with few lasting consequences.

Which means the media, our polity, have lowered the bar lower each time. Our previous norms suddenly change. We are more vulgar, coarser as a society. This is why — regardless of politics — thoughtful people of both parties, and GOPers such as the Bush and Reagan families, have said no way when it comes to Trump.

Perhaps he has now really crossed the line, as polling showed he took a major hit after the story on the audio sex tapes. These allegations a)turn the suggestion that it was all “locker room talk” to what septic tanks store, b)mean Republicans’ brand should and will take a major hit if they don’t distance themselves faster than Chris Christie and Rudy Guiliani have distanced themselves from integrity.

Tip to women If you meet Donald Trump and he asks what you want for the holidays, do not say “A Christmas goose.”

Redstate:

This is a man with a serious lack of judgment, the belief that he is above the law, and absolute disregard for women and their bodies. He is drunk on power and celebrity.

Should we reward him with the presidency? No. We shouldn’t even be alone in a room with him

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JOE GANDELMAN, Editor-In-Chief

Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.

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