The Donald Trump campaign has circulated a memo telling surrogates to bring up Bill Clinton’s sex scandals while defending Trump’s comments about women like former Miss Universe Alicia Machado, CNN reported late Wednesday.
“Mr. Trump has never treated women the way Hillary Clinton and her husband did when they actively worked to destroy Bill Clinton’s accusers,” one campaign talking point reads, according to CNN.
Another line tells surrogates to say, “Hillary Clinton bullied and smeared women like Paula Jones, Gennifer Flowers and Monica Lewinsky.”
The memo even directs supporters on how to respond when asked if they are blaming Hillary Clinton for her husband’s affairs.
“Are you blaming Hillary for Bill’s infidelities? No, however, she’s been an active participant in trying to destroy the women who has come forward with a claim,” one of the talking points reads.
After Trump boasted that he did not mention Monica Lewinsky during the Monday night debate, his surrogates applauded his “restraint” and proceeded to try to link Hillary Clinton to her husband’s sex scandals.
In a Thursday morning statement, the Clinton campaign bashed Trump for bringing up Hillary Clinton’s marriage in an attempt to distract from his own record with women.
“After his disastrous debate performance and his sexist attack on a former Miss Universe over her weight, Donald Trump is now trying to deflect by going after Hillary Clinton about her marriage,” spokesman Brian Fallon said in a statement. “While Trump and lieutenants like Roger Stone and David Bossie may want to dredge up failed attacks from the 1990s, as many Republicans have warned, this is a mistake that is going to backfire. He can try to distract from his demeaning comments against women, but if Donald Trump thinks these attacks against Hillary Clinton are going to throw her off her game and what matters to move this country forward, he is wrong.”
