Trump accused of 'shameless misogyny' after speech attacking Pelosi and wives who don't love husbands

‘It is indicative of the normalisation of quite violent misogyny around the world and a culture of degradation of women’

Donald Trump has been accused of “shameless misogyny” over a rambling televised White House speech celebrating his acquittal at his impeachment trial.

The US president used the address to brand the Russia investigation “bulls***”, refer to former FBI leaders as “scum” and hit out at Mitt Romney – the only Republican to vote for him to be removed and convicted.

But Mr Trump also questioned whether House speaker​ Nancy Pelosi “prays at all” as he attacked Democrats who took on key roles in his impeachment.

“She doesn’t pray. She may pray, but she prays for the opposite. But I doubt she prays at all,” he said.

The US leader then launched into a tirade claiming most wives do not love their husbands and would not be worried if they were unwell in hospital.

He contrasted this with the wife of Steve Scalise, a Louisiana Republican representative, who was apparently “devastated” after he was shot in the hip in congressional baseball practice in 2017.

“A lot of wives wouldn’t give a damn,” Mr Trump claimed.

The president, who has a record of making demeaning, sexually aggressive comments about women, then joked “most wives” would say “I’m going home now”.

Mr Trump also commented on the appearances of some Republican women.

Referring to Arizona representative Debbie Lesko, he said: “I like the name ‘Lesko’. I liked it. That’s how I picked it. I liked the name. I saw that face, I saw that everything.”

And talking about New York Republican representative Elise Stefanik, Mr Trump said: “I thought, ‘she looks good, she looks like good talent,’ but I didn’t realise that when she opens that mouth, she was killing them.”

Aisha Ali-Khan, co-organiser of Women’s March London, condemned Mr Trump’s speech, arguing the president was an “embarrassment to western leadership”.

Ms Ali-Khan told The Independent: “This is another speech in a long line of shambolic, vitriolic and very un-presidential speeches. The language he uses shows the leader of the free world’s lack of respect for women. He has shown no remorse for his outdated, sexist views of women.

“We should have confined dinosaurs like him to the scrapheap decades ago. Trump is a poor role model for men around the world – especially young, impressionable men surrounded by a rising wave of toxic masculinity. There is a need for positive role models who value women and appreciate women for more than their looks.

“He has made other comments about women that have been unchallenged and not apologised for. It is sexually demeaning to reduce a woman to her appearance.”

Ms Ali-Khan referred to the fact Mr Trump had previously made a number of highly sexualised comments about his daughter Ivanka Trump – including the time he said: “She does have a very nice figure. I’ve said if Ivanka weren’t my daughter, perhaps I’d be dating her.”

Fatima Goss Graves, president of the National Women's Law Centre, a US organisation, said: “Misogyny is the most consistent belief articulated by this president. It’s not surprising he continues to reveal his obsession with women’s appearance, nor should anyone be shocked by his degradation of women in his speech, his behaviour, or in his policies.”

Vivienne Hayes, chief executive of the Women’s Resource Centre, the leading national umbrella organisation for the women’s sector in the UK, added: “It is not surprising to hear these kinds of utterances from that man. It is the kind of thing he says all the time. We know his utterances are deeply offensive at best and deeply misogynistic and racist at worst.

“It is indicative of the normalisation of quite violent misogyny around the world and a culture of degradation of women. It is a growing issue.”

Ms Hayes argued it was important to focus on the “enormous resistance” to a rise in misogynistic and racist rhetoric around the world, noting there are millions of people who are committed to fighting to protect women’s rights.