Brooks: ‘Reaction to Trump Is Part of the Deal’ With Changed Attitudes Towards Sexual Misconduct

On Friday’s “PBS NewsHour,” New York Times columnist David Brooks argued that changed attitudes towards sexual harassment and abuse are partially a reaction to President Trump.

Brooks said, “I was wondering, would we — Harvey Weinstein, that probably would have happened. But if Donald Trump were not president, would it have had these massive ripple effects, where it becomes a big national change? And I think the reaction to Trump is part of the deal here. And we’ve talked about Trump maybe polluting our national culture, but it could be the reaction to Trump is also making us hypersensitive and making us want to correct the national culture. And so, you could be a — see a reaction to — the Trump wave, I think, has lowered norms and standards, but a lot of people would say, ‘No, we’re not happy with this, we’re going to raise norms and standards.’ And so, I hope this is part of that larger reestablishment of what is decency.”

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