No alleged sexual assaulter is too gross for Donald Trump to campaign with
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Eight women. Eight women have accused Nebraska GOP gubernatorial candidate Charles Herbster of sexually assaulting them, according to a story last week by the Nebraska Examiner‘s Aaron Sanderford. One of them is a sitting Republican state senator.
Naturally, Donald Trump jumped at the chance to publicly campaign with the serially accused assaulter at a rally later this month after Donald Trump Jr. campaigned for him last week. Trump, who had already endorsed Herbster last fall, decided to double down.
“BREAKING NEWS: DONALD J. TRUMP WILL BE COMING TO NEBRASKA ON APRIL 29TH!” Herbster tweeted Tuesday, including the screenshot of an April 19 press release from Trump’s Save America PAC.
The announcement came less than a week after the Examiner broke the story detailing the eight accounts of Herbster inappropriately touching and groping women without their consent. Seven of the accounts were anonymous, but Republican State Sen. Julie Slama affirmed on the record that she too had been the unsuspecting target of Herbster’s wandering hands. Another witness saw Herbster reach up Slama’s skirt at a Douglas County Republican Party event in 2019, and tipped off the Examiner about the incident.
Trump’s response to the revelations was clearly, that’s my guy. Perhaps it brings Trump back to his “grab ‘em by the pussy” heyday, because Herbster is definitely a grabber. According the Examiner report, “Each woman said she was grabbed, not inadvertently grazed, by Herbster.” One woman said Herbster had “cornered her in a private setting and forcibly kissed her.”
Herbster is in a virtual three-way tie with two other Republicans to win the primary, according to recent polling. Choo, choo—cue the Trump Train!
The timing couldn’t be more awkward unless your last name is Trump—then it’s perfect. But sitting GOP Gov. Pete Ricketts has backed Slama’s account and called on Herbster to apologize to the women, “seek help,” and end his gubernatorial bid, according to The Washington Post.
Herbster, in true Trump form, has suggested the entire revelation is the result of an elaborate conspiracy to smear him.
Ricketts, who is backing one of Herbster’s rivals, disagreed. “I would say just read the article, because that article is probably one of the most well-researched, corroborated articles I’ve ever seen on this topic,” he offered.
However, when Rickets was asked whether he would give Trump the same advice, he declined, suggesting that Trump’s “grab ’em by the pussy” comments were a “very different thing.” As if well over a dozen women haven’t come forward to say Trump either sexually harassed or assaulted them.