No reset button

Jim Rutenberg at the Times on Megyn Kelly’s book.

On Tuesday, she was in her office at the Fox News headquarters in Midtown Manhattan, taking stock, preparing for the next phase — a Trump presidency — and warning fellow journalists to look at her experience during the campaign as a potential cautionary tale.

“The relentless campaign that Trump unleashed on me and Fox News to try to get coverage the way he liked it was unprecedented and potentially very dangerous,” she said, casual but animated behind her translucent desk. If he were to repeat the same behavior from the White House, she said, “it would be quite chilling for many reporters.”

He has been railing at the Times in recent days.

Mr. Trump’s spokeswoman, Hope Hicks, declined to comment on Ms. Kelly or her book.

But speaking broadly about Mr. Trump’s expectations for his relationship with the press as president, Ms. Hicks said that he would abide by “standard press protocols that are in place now, the traditions,” and that he saw his presidency as “a fresh start” for his relationship with the news media.

No.

No, he does not get a “fresh start” after being such a complete shit. It doesn’t work like that. The perp doesn’t get to say “let’s have a fresh start now” after a long career of abuse. He’s still the same cruel bully, so he’s not the one who gets to declare a fresh start. Being elected president doesn’t magically transform a cruel bully into a decent human being.

During the interview, Ms. Kelly said she feared the election sent a troubling message to women.

“There were a few themes that came out of 2016, and one of them is, as women, we have a long way to go, a long way to go,” she told me. Emphasizing that she takes “no position on the election,” she said the campaign showed “there is a tolerance for some considerable level of sexism and in some corners — let me underscore I’m not referring to Trump specifically, just what we saw this year — even misogyny.”

I am referring to Trump specifically: the garbage that has come out of his mouth about women is indeed misogyny. He is a misogynist. Nobody who wasn’t a misogynist could talk about women the way he does.

One Response to “No reset button”