OPINION:
All candidates should be held to the same standards, whether they are male or female.
However, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has been repeatedly criticized for insulting the appearance of women, while similar insults made by his female opponents have been largely ignored, praised or written off as “mishaps.”
The excessive attacks on Mr. Trump’s comments have taken people’s focus away from the issues and policies that are critical in the upcoming election.
Most recently, Mr. Trump was slammed for making offensive comments about Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina.
“Look at that face,” he said about Mrs. Fiorina, “would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next president.”
But, while Mr. Trump’s words were certainly not in good taste, his opponents and the media have disproportionally condemned him in comparison to Mrs. Fiorina and Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton.
Both Mrs. Fiorina and Mrs. Clinton have degraded other candidate’s appearances, but less has been said about their statements.
“God, what is that hair? So yesterday,” Mrs. Fiorina said on an open microphone about her former opponent, Sen. Barbara Boxer, during the 2010 election cycle.
Yet, after the incident, Mrs. Fiorina’s insulting comment was written off as a “political gaffe,” while Mr. Trump’s recent comments have been called “sexist,” “misogynistic” and “despicable.”
Furthermore, Mrs. Clinton appeared on “The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon” a day after the second Republican presidential debate of the 2016 election cycle to joke about Mr. Trump’s hair.
“Well, at least he doesn’t have just one strand that he twirls around his head like a soft serve at Dairy Queen,” Mrs. Clinton laughed before later having Mr. Fallon pull her hair, saying “it’s real,” and insinuating that Mr. Trump’s hair is not.
Mrs. Clinton has since been praised for her remarks on “The Tonight Show,” being called “hilarious,” “great” and “relaxed.”
Clearly, neither Mrs. Clinton nor Mrs. Fiorina have been held to the same standard as Mr. Trump.
“It’s not only a double standard – it’s being politically correct,” Mr. Trump told Sean Hannity in a Fox News Channel interview two days after the second GOP presidential debate.
Time must no longer be wasted slamming Mr. Trump and holding him to a higher standard than the female candidates.
Time must be put back into focusing on the issues and policy ideas of each candidate, judging them not on their appearance or choice of words but on what is most important in this election.
Madison Gesiotto is a staff editor for the Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law.
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