A Donald Trump staffer on Sunday claimed that the Republican presidential nominee never mocked the appearance of women who have accused him of sexual assault, but noted that, in her view, it would not be “offensive” if he did.
In an interview on MSNBC, senior Trump adviser A.J. Delgado argued that the accusers bore responsibility for the discussion of their looks, claiming “when you have somebody claiming that you sexually assaulted them, you have brought looks into the equation.”
Trump last week told supporters at a Florida rally to “take a look” at one of the 12 women who have in the last week alleged that he groped or kissed them without consent.
“You take a look. Look at her,” Trump told the crowd, referring to a former People magazine writer who said Trump forcibly kissed her during a reporting trip to his Mar-A-Lago estate in Florida. “I don’t think so.”
The GOP nominee was even more explicit at a Friday rally, saying a woman who accused him of groping her on an airplane “would not be my first choice.”
Though Trump has made similarly pointed remarks about women’s looks on a number of occasions, Delgado waved away his latest comments.
“I don’t think he was commenting on her looks,” she said on MSNBC. “They took his remark from the rally. I was with him that day where he said, ‘Look at her.’ I use the phrase, ‘Look at Hillary Clinton,’ when I’m referring to the person or the story.”
Delgado then implied that accusing someone of sexual assault invited a conversation about both parties’ physical appearances.
“When you have somebody claiming that you sexually assaulted them, you have brought looks into the equation,” she said.
“If somebody said, ‘A.J. was attracted to me and touched me in an inappropriate manner,’ it’s relevant to the discussion whether that person is the type of person that I would normally be attracted to,” Delgado went on. “He hasn’t mentioned looks. If he did, it would be germane to the discussion. I wouldn’t find that offensive.”
During the 2016 race, Trump has previously ridiculed the looks of women who have criticized him or who did not personally appeal to him.
Earlier this year he mocked former presidential candidate Carly Fiorina, telling supporters, “Look at that face! Would anyone vote for that?”
He has gone after former Miss Universe Alicia Machado for gaining a “massive amount of weight” while holding her crown, and last week targeted Hillary Clinton for joking about him walking closely behind her during the second presidential debate.
“Believe me, I wasn’t impressed, but she walks in front of me,” Trump said of his Democratic opponent.
