Donald Trump says Harvey Weinstein’s guilty verdict sends ‘very strong message’
Donald Trump has taken a dig at Michelle Obama after a video resurfaced of her publicly praising Harvey Weinstein before he was a convicted rapist.
US President Donald Trump has taken a dig at Michelle Obama for publicly praising Harvey Weinstein before he was a convicted rapist.
On Monday, Weinstein was found guilty in a Manhattan Supreme Court of third-degree rape and first-degree criminal sexual act, and acquitted on the most serious charges — two counts of predatory sexual assault.
Responding to the verdict on Tuesday, Mr Trump said the convictions were “a great thing from the standpoint of women” and sent “a very strong message”.
During a press conference in India, the president described the outcome as a “great victory” when asked about the once-acclaimed Hollywood movie mogul’s case.
“So I was never a fan of Harvey Weinstein, as you know,” Mr Trump responded.
“In fact, he said he was going to work hard to defeat me in the election. How did that work out?”
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Mr Trump said he didn’t “know too much about the case” because he has been in meetings and travelling “almost every hour of the day, every minute of the day”.
“I haven’t been able to really see too much of it,” he continued.
“But I was just not a fan of his. I knew him a little bit, not very well, I knew him because he was in New York.
“I will say the people that liked him were the Democrats. Michelle Obama loved him. Loved him. Hillary Clinton loved him.
“He gave tremendous money to the Democrats and I guess my question is will the Democrats be asking for that money back? Because he gave a lot of money to the Democrats and, you know, it’s too bad but that’s the way it worked out.”
Michelle Obama: Harvey Weinstein is a wonderful human being, a good friend and just a powerhouse
— PolishPatriotâ„¢ï¸ (@PolishPatriotTM) February 24, 2020
(November 8, 2013) pic.twitter.com/IPh2iLUjlQ
In 2013, Michelle Obama praised Weinstein as “wonderful human being”, a “good friend” and a “powerhouse” while thanking him during a White House event. Video of the speech has since resurfaced – and has been shared thousands of times on social media following Weinstein’s convictions.
In a 2017 joint statement, Barack and Michelle Obama said they were “disgusted” by reports about Weinstein’s sexual misconduct.
“Michelle and I have been disgusted by the recent reports about Harvey Weinstein,” the statement read. “Any man who demeans and degrades women in such fashion needs to be condemned and held accountable, regardless of wealth or status.”
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Weinstein had been a contributor to Democrats including Hillary Clinton, former Secretary of State John Kerry and Barack Obama. Malia, Obama’s daughter, interned at Weinstein’s film production company in 2017, Newsweek reports.
Another reporter asked the president about the Weinstein case being viewed as a milestone for the #MeToo movement — and what message Mr Trump could deliver to women in America who are afraid to come forward and share their stories of sexual harassment and assault.
“Well, again, I don’t know the actual results. I haven’t seen too much because I’ve been in India, as you know,” Mr Trump said.
“I think that from the standpoint of women, I think it was a great thing. It was a great victory and sends a very strong message. Very, very strong message.”
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