title:  Trump Stands Up For Fellow Sexual Harasser Bill O’Reilly: He Didn’t Do ‘Anything Wrong’
text: On March 31, Donald Trump declared April  National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month.  On April 5   less than one week later   he said fellow scumbag Bill O Reilly didn t do  anything wrong  when he seemingly sexually harassed a large number of his female staff over the years. But then, Donald Trump himself has been accused of numerous sexual assaults and harassment, so birds of a feather.The New York Times got an exclusive interview with Trump and walked away with two bombshell findings, both awful in their own unique way: First, Trump duped veteran journalists Maggie Haberman and Glenn Thrush into publishing a slanderous claim that Susan Rice, the former national security adviser under Obama, had committed a crime. That would be a huge story if not for the fact that when asked to produce a single shred of evidence, Trump refused to do so. I think it s going to be the biggest story,  Mr. Trump said in an interview in the Oval Office, declining repeated requests for evidence for his allegations or the names of other Obama administration officials.  It s such an important story for our country and the world. It is one of the big stories of our time. He declined to say if he had personally reviewed new intelligence to bolster his claim but pledged to explain himself  at the right time. And he s currently already nursing several other claims   3 million people illegally voted, Obama illegally wiretapped him   which he has also failed to provide any proof for. Despite these repeated offenses, Habermann and Thrush ran the story as if Trump weren t the biggest bullshitter in the world. That s inexcusable.But Trump wasn t done. After pretending to uncover a major political scandal, Trump moved onto his friend Bill O Reilly. O Reilly is currently embroiled in scandal that may cost him his job after having been exposed as settling at least five sexual harassment lawsuits filed against him from female coworkers. Trump, five days into Sexual Assault and Prevent Month, jumped to his friend s defense. I think he s a person I know well   he is a good person,  said Mr. Trump, who during the interview was surrounded at his desk by a half-dozen of his highest-ranking aides, including the economic adviser Gary Cohn and Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, along with Vice President Mike Pence. I think he shouldn t have settled; personally I think he shouldn t have settled,  said Mr. Trump.  Because you should have taken it all the way. I don t think Bill did anything wrong. Here s what Trump considers innocent behavior   locker room talk, if you will   by O Reilly:The women who made allegations against Mr. O Reilly either worked for him or appeared on his show. They have complained about a wide range of behavior, including verbal abuse, lewd comments, unwanted advances and phone calls in which it sounded as if Mr. O Reilly was masturbating, according to documents and interviews.The reporting suggests a pattern: As an influential figure in the newsroom, Mr. O Reilly would create a bond with some women by offering advice and promising to help them professionally. He then would pursue sexual relationships with them, causing some to fear that if they rebuffed him, their careers would stall.Trump, of course, has a large list of his own offenses against women. During the campaign, over a dozen women came forward to recount times he had assaulted or attempted to assault them. Trump himself seemed to back up their claims in a leaked audio recording where he bragged about grabbing and kissing women even without their consent. Other women have also come forward to describe times Trump was sexually demeaning or suggestive to them.To watch Trump and O Reilly, both with histories of abuse, cover for each other is truly nauseating.Featured image via Alex Wong/Getty Images