Maybe many are ignoring it, but on Thursday morning I watched James Comey’s testimony before the senate and I noticed parallels in the dynamic between Trump and Comey and any sexual assault case.
First, Comey said he never wanted to be physically alone with Trump and tried to avoid him. Then there’s the way Trump not only aggressively pursued Comey, but used isolation techniques to weaken Comey’s defense. And, of course, there’s the way the whole thing is described as a “He said – he said” situation.
On Thursday morning I also noticed the number of times Republican senators asked Comey things like “If you thought your conversation was inappropriate, why didn’t you tell the president he was being inappropriate?” and “After that conversation, why didn’t you tell your superiors about it?” Comey responded by saying that he had been too stunned by the impropriety and didn’t have the presence of mind to tell the president not to contact him again. I even said to the TV as I watched, “Maybe Comey was asking for it, right?” Putting on trial the person who was the target of the harassment is a classic part of investigating inappropriate interactions.
They only left out questions like, “What were you wearing?” and “Haven’t you willingly been alone with other high-ranking officials of the U.S. government?”
I didn't notice similarity, but I sure of thinking about it now, and thinking about some of my experiences with hostile and abusive college administrators who have insisted on meeting with me alone.
Interesting analogy.
Yes, yes, YES! I DID notice the similarity. Thanks for identifying what made me feel so uncomfortable just reading about the hearing. I felt great sympathy for Comey. At the same time, I also felt like – see? that's how it feels!