So Here’s How Donald and Eric Would ‘Defend’ Ivanka Trump if She Were Sexually Harassed at Work

After Donald Trump’s Outrageous Comments, Son Eric Goes on National TV to Defend Them

Offering a window into how he sees the world and human interactions, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump says if his daughter Ivanka, an executive vice president at the Trump Organization, were ever sexually harassed she would find a new job rather than take action against the person harassing her.

In a phone interview with Kirsten Powers of USA Today, Trump was asked what he would think if his daughter Ivanka was sexually harassed by a coworker. 

According to Powers, “his reply was startling, even by Trumpian standards.”

Trump responded by saying, “I would like to think she would find another career or find another company if that was the case.” 

In larger context, the conversation was about allegations of sexual harassment against former Fox News chief Roger Ailes. Trump seemed to think that because Ailes had spoken positively about Gretchen Carlson, one of the women who came forward, he could not have sexually harassed her. 

When it was pointed out to Trump that a person could both say positive things about their employees and harass them, Trump responded by saying, “It would be easier for me and more politically correct for me to say you are right. But you would think she wouldn’t say those things,” suggesting he believes it would be inappropriate to be truthful about someone’s wrongful actions if they had been nice to you previously.

Trump’s comments have been troubling, and when his son Eric, also an executive vice president with the Trump Organization, spoke about his father’s remarks in an interview with “CBS This Morning,” he stood by them and explained them by echoing the same sentiments.

“I think what he’s saying is, Ivanka is a strong, powerful woman, she wouldn’t allow herself to be objected to it.” Eric Trump went on to say that Ivanka, while being a strong, powerful woman who would not allow herself to be harassed, would report it to the human resources department were it to happen.

This seems to be another issue where the Trump family has a significant disconnect from the average person in society. Many women don’t have the option of quitting a job where they’ve been harassed, and according to the Human Rights Library at the University of Minnesota, many women believe that they will be blamed or that nothing will be done to solve the problem. 

Last year the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) reported “that one in four women face harassment in the workplace, and many are loath to report it.”