Peter Walker, The Guardian – November 10, 2016
Nigel Farage has claimed to be “the catalyst” for the rise of Donald Trump, referred to Barack Obama as a “creature”, and joked about Trump’s alleged sexual assaults on women. In a jubilant interview with TalkRadio from Spain, before he was due to fly to the US, Farage joked several times about the idea of the US president-elect sexually assaulting Theresa May when he met her.
Jeff Stein, Vox – October 9, 2016
Appearing on ABC’s This Week on Sunday morning, top Trump defender Rudy Giuliani conceded that the leaked 2005 audio of Trump captured the Republican nominee talking about sexual assault. “That’s what he was talking about,” Giuliani told George Stephanopoulos. To make matters worse, Giuliani added that he “didn’t know” if his candidate had committed sexual assault in the past.
Jill Filipovic, TIME – July 29, 2016
This week we saw political and marital gender roles turned inside out, and to brilliant—hopefully lasting—effect. Last night, Hillary Clinton spoke of Bill only twice.
P.R. Lockhart, Mother Jones – July 28, 2016
On the final day of the Democratic National Convention, Sarah McBride used her position as the first transgender person to speak at a major-party convention to argue that despite advances in LGBT rights, the fight for equality must continue.
Olivier Knox, Yahoo! News – July 28, 2016
Retired four-star Marine Gen. John Allen, who has endorsed Hillary Clinton for president, told Yahoo News in a Thursday interview that there is “no question” that American troops will take orders from a woman commander in chief.
Todd VanDerWerff, Vox – July 27, 2016
The most remarkable thing about Bill Clinton’s speech at the Democratic National Convention, the thing that made it the speech with the highest degree of difficulty at either convention so far, was who was delivering it. I don’t mean that the man’s performance was especially remarkable. It was not Clinton at his finest. He’s clearly lost a bit of his old game, and we may come to remember his 2012 DNC defense of Barack Obama’s record as his last truly great speech. No, what was remarkable was that this speech was being delivered by Bill Clinton, period.
Maeve Reston and Sunlen Serfaty, CNN – July 27, 2016
Bill Clinton isn’t used to being the second act, but he slipped comfortably into that role Tuesday night when making a forceful case that his wife is the proven change-maker who should become president of the United States in November.
Patrick Healy, New York Times – July 27, 2016
He spoke of desiring her: her thick blond hair, her flowery white skirt, her magnetic personality. He was almost titillating as he recalled chasing after her and getting close enough to “touch her back.” He used intimate details to reveal her feelings about his three marriage proposals. Never before has a spouse talked about a presidential nominee at a political convention quite like Bill Clinton described Hillary Clinton here on Tuesday night. Then again, a man has never talked about a woman in this context before.
Chemi Shalev, Haaretz – July 27, 2016
Role reversals and gender stereotypes also featured prominently in Bill Clinton’s keynote address, which somehow managed not be overshadowed by Michelle Obama’s rhetorical masterpiece the night before. Clinton successfully fulfilled the traditional role of candidates’ wives who extol their husband’s virtues before the convention. And he defied skeptics who had expected him to focus mainly on himself or who were doubtful whether he could match his memorable speech at the 2012 convention in which his “explainer in chief” persona made Barack Obama’s economic policies and Affordable Care Act accessible to all, thus reversing the negative vibes that had been plaguing him at that point. In both cases, Clinton outdid expectations.
Kate Andersen Brower, New York Times – July 26, 2016
If Hillary Clinton is elected president, the most important difference between Bill Clinton and the presidential spouses who came before him won’t just be that he is a man, and a former president. It will be something else entirely: his admitted and well-documented flaws. In a letter to Betty Ford, then the first lady, a Texas woman wrote, without a trace of humor, “You are constitutionally required to be perfect.”