Trump would not win election today over sexual misconduct: Congresswoman

A US congresswoman says she does not believe President Donald Trump would win an election today, given the current focus on sexual harassment allegations leveled against prominent US figures in politics, entertainment and other industries. 

“If the president was running today, I bet he would not be elected because I think we have had a huge cultural shift that is 40 years in the making,” US Representative Jackie Speier, a Democrat from California, said in an interview with CBS News on Sunday.

During last year’s presidential campaign that pit Trump against his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, more than a dozen women came forward to accuse him of sexual assault or harassment.

Trump, who had denied all the accusations, was later seen in a 2005 video released by The Washington Post using obscene language against women and bragging about sexually assaulting them.

Speier’s comments come at a time when sexual misconduct allegations have been leveled against prominent US figures in politics, entertainment and other industries.

On the Republican side, Alabama Senate hopeful Roy Moore has found himself in a desperate position after being hit with multiple allegations of assaulting teenage girls as young as 14 in the past.

• Moore should leave race if sex allegations true: Trump

Democratic Senator Al Franken also found himself in trouble on Thursday, after he was accused of forcibly kissing and groping a Los Angeles radio host in 2006.

“I think all of us are grateful now that there is a new day for women in the workplace where they do not have to put up with sexual advances that are unwanted, that they do not have to live and work in a hostile environment and that’s going to be good for all of us in the workplace,” Speier said.

While Franken has apologized for his actions, Moore has been vehemently denying allegations against him as a smear campaign intended to destroy his chances in next month’s election.

• Twitter users slam Trump’s hypocrisy on sex abuse

Trump’s reactions to these cases have been very different. He has forcibly condemned Franken in multiple tweets but has tried to keep silent on the accusations against Moore.

The emerging allegations have brought back into the spotlight previous accusations of sexual misconduct against former President Bill Clinton.

Democratic Senator Kristen Gillibrand, who occupies Hillary Clinton’s New York Senate seat, said that Bill Clinton ought to have resigned the presidency over his sexual relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky, if it happened today.

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