PresidentDonald Trumpon Tuesday said he was “never a fan” of disgraced producerHarvey Weinsteinand that he hadn’t been able to closely follow Weinstein’s sexual assault trial, which ended with Weinsteinbeing found guilty this week.
But, speaking with reporters on the second day ofhis trip to India, Trump took some characteristic pleasure in the downfall of someone he saw as an opponent — and he swiped at the Democratic Party,Hillary ClintonandMichelle Obamafor their association with Weinstein.
“So I was never a fan of Harvey Weinstein, as you know,” Trump said. “In fact, he said he was going to work hard to defeat me in the election. How did that work out?”
“I don’t know too much about the case because you know I’ve been traveling and being at meetings almost every hour of the day, every minute of the day, I haven’t been able to really see too much of it,” Trump added.
“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,” the president said. “I will say the people that liked him were the Democrats.Michelle Obamaloved him. Loved him. Hillary Clinton loved him.”
While both Clinton and Obama denounced Weinstein in 2017 — days after the initial reporting about the sexual assault allegations against him that ultimately led to his trial — Trump was seemingly referring to Weinstein’s years of fundraising for Democrats, such as Clinton and Obama.
Obama’s daughterMaliaalso interned at his movie company before the allegations.
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She and her husband, former PresidentBarack Obama, took a different tone in speaking out after the Weinstein allegations broke open in October 2017.
Republicans repeatedly criticized Democrats for ties to Weinstein and for taking his money (which Trump echoed this week).
In turn, Trump critics called Republicans hypocritical given the president’s own long list of accusers, including a famous advice columnist who said he violently raped her.
A source close to Clinton tells PEOPLE of Trump’s latest criticism: “Surprising reaction, since Donald Trump has a history of being both a Democrat and a sexual predator.”
He told reporters in India on Tuesday that Weinstein’s conviction on third-degree rape and first-degree criminal sexual act “was a great victory and sends a very strong message.”
source: people.com
