Donald Trump's "great respect for women" led to at least 20 gender discrimination lawsuits

In one lawsuit, Trump allegedly directed management to fire a female employee for being "fat"

Published October 10, 2016 5:32PM (EDT)

  (Reuters/David Moir)
(Reuters/David Moir)

An ongoing USA Today investigation into Donald Trump’s litigation history has unveiled at least 20 separate lawsuits that have accused Trump and his associates of discriminating against women, including complaints of sexual harassment.

Back in June, the USA Today culled 3,500 legal actions from state and federal courts that named Trump as either a defendant or a plaintiff. At the time, news of these lawsuits focused on Trump’s propensity to sue people, but now the court documents provide insight and context to Trump’s sexist conduct, which was put in the spotlight last Friday when a video leaked showing Trump making vulgar, misogynist remarks.

During Sunday's debate, Trump insisted he "has great respect for women" when asked about the video and his comments.

But the lawsuits uncovered by The USA Today, which spread across three decades, show that Trump’s organization created an environment that accepted lewd, discriminatory behavior.

In one lawsuit, the now GOP nominee complained to a female supervisor at his Trump National Golf Club that the staff did not meet his aesthetic standards.

“I want you to get some good looking hostesses here. People like to see good looking people when they come in,” the employee recounted Trump saying.

Managers at the club complied with Trump’s wishes and allegedly hid the non-attractive employees whenever Trump visited the property. One supervisor even testified that they had to fire a female employee because Trump said she was “fat.”

The USA Today says that over 130 lawsuits involve women employees suing Trump-owned companies for mistreatment.

An attorney for The Trump Organization said that the number of these lawsuits was small for an organization of its size.


By Taylor Link

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Donald Trump Election 2016 October Surprise Sexual Harassment Trump Lawsuits