Bulwark Takes - You Will Not Believe How Often Trump Defended Sex Criminals

Episode Date: July 10, 2026

Sarah Longwell and Tim Miller take on Donald Trump’s decades-long habit of defending men accused of sexual assault and misconduct. From Roy Moore and Roger Ailes to Mike Tyson and Ghislaine Maxwell, they roll the archival tape and expose the staggering depth of the GOP’s hypocrisy.

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Watermelon is back at booster juice all summer long. Nice. I love the watermelon explosion. And the watermelon wave. Yep. They even got a new watermelon asai poe pool this year. The one in a melon bowl. And what does that sound like?

Mmm. Like that. Booster Juice. Canadian born. Blending since 1999. Hey everyone. Sarah Longwell here, publisher of the bulwark with my buddy and good friend Tim Miller. We wanted to jump on because something caught my attention recently, Tim,

as we have been going through this whole Graham Platner saga, Republicans like Kelly Ann Conway and Kevin McCarthy have rushed out to say, Republicans would never do such a thing as to defend a candidate or, you know, we would never do this. We throw the bad ones out. But Trump did this really funny thing where when he was asked about Graham Platner, this is what he said. It's really a question of whether or not you believe the woman. A lot of people say big falsehoods. It's, uh, he's in a bind. He's in a bind. So to him, it depends on whether you believe women, because a lot of people are, just a lot of these women are liars. It's just the weakness of their attacks on Platner are just so obvious and so funny. I mean, it's,

I guess funny in the dark macabwe. But yeah, I mean, Trump, the only time Trump ever shows empathy is for men who are accused of sexual assault. It's like, honestly, it's the only time. He often, you know, we're about to see. He can get inside their head. He understands it could be unfair how they're treated. Usually he only cares if himself is unfairly treated. He doesn't even mind if his kids or staff are unfairly treated.

It's he himself or other powerful men accused of sexual assault. That's the one time his empathy gene comes in. And because of what you're about, we're at the show and all this, like, in addition to Kellyanne and Kevin, I was watching a segment, I think it was Brad Todd on CNN as a Republican consultant or another Republican consultant, where, you know, it's the CNN fight show. And one of the Democrats is like, well, do you believe E. Gene Carroll? And, you know, he's like, well, do you believe Lindsey Feifield? Just like it seems like, yeah, he's like, well, do you believe E. Jean Carroll? And it's like, well, you know, we're not talking about that.

We're here to talk about Graham Platner. And it's like, okay. All right. Sure, guys. So, you know, it is a very shallow pool that they're standing in as they're trying to make these arguments. Yeah. I mean, these are, this is a real glass house situation, a pot calling the kettle black. A lot of metaphors.

I'm not really sure what mine was actually shallow pool. It's Friday afternoon. We're taping this. So yours made more sense. But you know, you know where we're going with it. I do. And there is right now as many people as Republicans who have no moral authority on these issues. Because Donald Trump hasn't – people say E. Jean Carroll because that is the one where Donald

Trump was adjudicated for sexual assault. He was also, you know, convicted for election crimes for paying off Stormy Daniels with whom he was sleeping when Melania was – had just had barren. And so, you know, there's all of these ways in which Donald Trump does feel, I think, I think a sense of real fidelity with men who were accused of sexual assault and rape because he has been accused 28 times, I believe, is his tally. Lots of them came out during the time he was running for president in 2016. And Republicans ignored all of those. And they ignored it even after Donald Trump was caught on video by Access Hollywood.

It was released him saying, yeah, no, I just move on them, grab them, do whatever they want. they're a star, they let you do it. Okay. So we know that about Trump. And so all of the people going, all the Republicans going after Grant Platner, obviously just deep hidden hypocrisy. One of the other things that the Republicans will say is, well, like, you know, the Democrats only will throw their guys overboard when it, like, politically benefits them in the end, right?

Like, Platner is going to lose anyway, so finally they got on board. So, like, it's worth just kind of taking that argument at face value. And, you know, like, that is also just not true. Like, I mean, I feel like, Swalwell was going to win. Right. We have the, all these cases right now as Republicans are up. Like, don't you think all of the Republicans feel the same way about Ken Paxton?

The Democrats said about Graham Platner. Don't you think they think that they would have a better chance winning the Texas Senate race if they threw them overboard? Of course. There are lesser cases I've been talking about Max Miller and Corey Mills are in the House races right now. Cory Mills is in a primary. These Republicans could circle the wagons around candidates that have not been accused of, in the case of Mills and Miller, domestic violence, in the case of Paxton, just myriad other, you know, crimes against moral, moral, upstanding behavior.

And, like, they don't do it. But also actual crimes. I mean, the corruption. Yeah, and also actual crimes. Yeah. Like, the thing with Paxton actually isn't the marital infidelity so much as it is that he has been, he was impeached by his own party in Texas for a lot of. of ethical violations, right? So Republicans are tolerating all of this stuff. None of us should ever

take any of them seriously. There is no need to, for one second, feel like you owe, you know, these random right winger's any kind of a, like, real response. Like, people should do it because it's the right thing to do. But like, they have no moral authority. We should ignore them. But the thing that that actually got my attention, when Donald Trump was on the plane at his immediate thing, every other Republican right now is, at least from a messaging standpoint, they're like, well, I'm going to be engaged in total hypocrisy, but I'm going right at Platner because it's bad for Democrats. Donald Trump still, with his killer instinct, still is like, wait a minute, no, I got to, we got to throw into doubt the idea that this woman is telling the truth. And I was like, you know,

this is actually Donald Trump's, like, signature. This guy. Believe creepers. Believe all creepers. Has never met a sexual assaulter or raper or whatever that he didn't want to defend. And so, Brendan went and just like did a quick look, lots of examples of this, and like, let's roll some tape here. Just roll the roulette wheel and let's see where we begin. I think it's a very ugly witch hunt and I think it's very unfair. Herman Kane. You say, oh, hello, darling. How are you?

And you get sued because you've destroyed somebody's life. It's ridiculous. And I think it's very unfair to him. They probably do love their name splashed across the front pages. And frankly, I think that's not a good situation. and I don't think it's a fair situation. And I think Herman should take very, very strong action, even if he has to bring a major lawsuit against the women.

Okay. Do you remember you were around for politics? And do you remember the case against Herman King? As I was on the Huntsman Convention. Yes. I have a lot of thoughts about that. Wow, that is great archival footage. Shout out to Brendan.

My response to Trump on Herman Kane, number one, how much more lucid does he sound? Oh, yeah. In 2011. Like the difference between 2011 and 2026, some of slurring and his dentures. It's 15 years. Yeah, his vocabulary is a few more words in the vocabulary.

I mean, it's pretty notable there. It's kind of striking to see that. Number two, he's not a politician then. So this shows Trump just like at his core in his private life. It's 2011. It's four years away from the escalator. And not only does he come to Mn King's defense, he's basically like, the other woman's a horror who probably wants attention.

Yeah, that's right. This is he has a theory of this. And that is replete through these clips is that Trump is like they get they just want attention. They just want their name in the headlines. Because it turns out so well for all these women. It is actually an incredibly both illuminating and sick perspective to think. And I'm not saying it's never, it never happens. I am saying the thing that people generally don't want to be famous for is being like victimized by some famous person where, yes, everybody comes out of the woodwork to call them a war.

They're famous for their sex act. I mean, obviously some people are much more comfortable. with that and happy to be, but like a lot of private people don't want to be famous for for some sort of sexual act, certainly not one that was not consensual that they didn't want to be part of. They don't want to think about it. Right. You know, so anyway, the last comment I have on the Herman Kane clip is it's worth also mentioning that Trump did come to Herman Kane's defense after he got some accusations of sexual assault. Eight years later, he was responsible to Herman Kane. He was. So RIP to Herman Kane, who got COVID.

at Trump's indoor maskless rally at the height of the COVID pandemic after which Sherman King contracted COVID and died. That's right. Okay, next one. Roy Moore denies it. That's all I can say. He denies it. And by the way, he totally denies it.

So get out and vote for Roy Moore. Do it. Do it. Do it. So I'd forgot. about this, which is, because right now, Republicans are using Roy Moore as their big example of who they abandoned. And I was, and I keep thinking, no, they didn't. Like, yes, the voters in Alabama did vote for a Democrat, but Trump campaigned for the guy the whole time. And a handful

of Republicans candidates decided that they were going to abstain. None of them were for Doug Jones and saying that Roy Moore should be defeated. But Trump himself campaigned for him the whole time. And the RNC said that they were going to stop supporting them. And then Trump called them like, what are you doing? And then the RNC came back in and it was like, never mind. We will support him, actually. That was Ron McRomney-McDaniel. And so, who knows to that?

14 and 15-year-olds. Yeah, that was disgusting what he was doing. And Roy Moore was a despicable character even outside of his pedophilia, aphibophilia. That was his defense. This was a fibophilia. It wasn't, you know, it wasn't children. He wasn't a peto.

He was just being very inappropriate sexually, making sexual advances, sexual contact to 15-year-olds when he was, I forget, 30, 40, something like that. Hey, did you hear? Watermelon is back at Booster Juice all summer long. Nice. I love the watermelon explosion. And the watermelon wave. Yep. They even got a new watermelon asaipole this year. The one in a melon bowl. And what does that sound like? Like that.

Booster Juice, Canadian-born, blending since 1999. So anyway, sick. I mean, totally sick stuff. Trump absolutely unapologetic in defending Roy Moore. And again, a pretty meaningful difference here with what you're saying, how Democrats you had to partner. Even partners, even Bernie Zoron, like you should get out. All out.

All out. And I will say we're going to go to some more video. But I also, Brendan found this one from Bill Clinton. Trump defended Bill Clinton in 1998. Uh-oh, many of our commenters defend Bill Clinton every time I bring up to Bill Clinton's behavior. So some of the commenters might like him. Might like this. He was on Fox Newses.

It was on with Neil Cavuto. And Trump said of Bill Clinton, I don't necessarily agree with his victims. His victims are terrible. He is really a victim himself. But he put himself in that position. The whole group, Paula Jones, Lewinsky, it's just a really unattractive group. I'm not just talking about physical. they've taken nothing and made it a big monster.

I mean, they've made Watergate out of really what should have been nothing. Donald Trump would then utilize all of those people. To attack Hillary. To attack Hillary. Right. In Donald Trump's mind, the person that really perpetrated the crimes in Bill Clinton's sexual peccadillos was his wife, that Hillary was the one who should suffer for this. That's right.

Because that's, you know, again, Donald Trump will always. circle the wagons around the men, but he'd be happy to use the women's accusations to take down a woman. That's right. All right. Who else we got? One more spin of the wheel. What do you think of the happen to your friend, Roger Ailes? I think it's so sad. He's such a great guy. And I can tell you that some of the women that are complaining, I know how much he's helped them. And even recently, and when they write books that are fairly recently released, and they say wonderful things about him, and now all of a sudden, they're saying these horrible things about him,

it's very sad. This is quite the color he had there. Roger Ailes, Megan Kelly, come get your boy. Because there was like a whole movie called Bombshell made that was her hero's journey for Megan Kelly as they took down Roger Ailes for what was serial, sexual harassment, casting couch, gross stuff. But there's Donald Trump defending him back in 2016.

somebody who, Gretchen Carl, I mean, so many of the Fox News women and people who went on to other things. The Roger Ailes thing wasn't in dispute from anybody, but don't worry, Trump had his back. Roger Ailes was, to borrow a phrase from Trump, unattractive. And I am talking about the physical. Yeah. And I'm also talking about the soul. Yeah, disgusting in every way. Grossness of that guy using the fact that he had power over what jobs these women got to.

For a second, you said something. that made me think about Rogers Ailes shirtless in my head, and I have to now bleach my brain. I'm sorry. Yeah, I'm sorry. Okay, we got more. We got more. Keep it rolling. Just Elaine Maxwell is in prison, and so a lot of people want to know if she's going to turn in powerful people. And I know you've talked in the past about Prince Andrew, and you've criticized Bill Clinton's behavior. I'm wondering, do you feel that she's going to turn in powerful men? How do you see that working out? I don't know. I haven't really been following it too much. I just wish her well, frankly, I've met her numerous times over the years, especially since I lived in Palm Beach,

and I guess they lived in Palm Beach. But I wish her well, whatever it is. I don't know the situation with Prince Andrew. Just don't know, not aware of it. So you know what? Here we go, Tim. This is a great act of feminism here. It is Donald Trump will not just defend men who do disgusting thing. If you're a woman who has been procuring underage girls for the benefit of a pedophile, you two get Donald Trump's defense from the stage, from the podium. I just wish her well, twice. Two well wishes, a double well wish. As I recall, Jonathan Swan recently wrote regime chains, followed up with him on this, and he stood by it.

Mr. President, Gleine Maxwell has been arrested on allegations of child sex trafficking. Why would you wish such a person well? Well, first of all, I don't know that, but I do know that. She has. She's been arrested for that. Her friend or boyfriend. Epstein was either killed or committed suicide in jail. She's now in jail. Yeah, I wish you well.

I'd wish you well. I'd wish a lot of people well. Good luck. Let them prove somebody was guilty. Multiple well wishes, multiple interviews where he wished her well, like one of the most disgusting criminals in America. But again, as long as you're on the side of the predator, you're on the side of Donald Trump. We got a couple other goofy ones, too. Let's just take a look at those really quick.

You could show them back to back. Michael would spend a lot of time with my kids. I have beautiful kids, and at the time, like at Marlago, and even in Trump Tower, the kids were very young. Michael would come, play with the kids. He just loved children. He was not a child molester, and I am certain of that. He loved children. He'd play with my son, Eric, and my son Donald.

And he'd just play with him forever. He loved children, but he was not a child molester. And, you know, that whole final saga of Neverland and the police and what they did was, I think, a very, very, very bad part of Michael's life. There's another Mike in the mix here. Let's do that one. It's my opinion that to a large extent Mike Tyson was railroad in this case. I have a young woman that was in his room, his hotel room, late in the evening at her own will. You have a young woman who was seen dancing for the beauty contest, dancing with a big smile on her face, looked happy as could be. Number one, she knocks late in the night.

Number two, she's dancing in a beauty contest at 8 in the morning, and I saw the tapes, and I see the big smile on her face, and she's dancing happily at 8 in the morning. And now Mike Tyson's in jail for four or five or six years. Mike Tyson, in my opinion, should really be given another break. I mean, they put him in jail before he was even guilty. It's just ridiculous. The woman was dancing at 8 o'clock, and this guy's in jail for 6 years.

I don't understand it. I think it's wrong. Wow. Passionate. Yeah, I mean, this is like he was. was going everywhere to make the case for Mike Tyson that despite the fact that Mike Tyson was convicted of rape. I was pretty young when that happened. Didn't he beat her up? That was someone different. That was Robin Givens who was on head of the class, which was a show I liked in my youth quite a bit.

And yeah, he beat her. Look, this guy has a long history of domestic violence and rape. But don't worry. Donald Trump was there to make sure that somebody was presenting the. counter argument on every talk show he went on. He bit the ear. That was, yeah, the Vanderholyfield's ear, right. I'm sorry, I have to really sit for a second on the previous audio of Don talking about Michael Jackson. And how often Michael played with little Don Jr. and little Eric.

It was just Michael Jackson loved kids and I'd bring him to Mar-a-Lago and he and Eric would just sit there and play. Michael Jackson and Eric playing playing a lot a lot of play and I don't have any additional comments on that because the last time I weighed in on Michael Jackson I was brigated by more insane people than the last time you attacked name redacted I was like it was unbelievable what I thought I was just making a cheeky joke so all I'm going to do is just Once again reiterate, Michael Jackson would come to Merrillago and play with Don Jr. and Eric, and they'd like to play it together. The point here is, not about each of these individual cases, the point here is that whether it's Matt Gates, who he, you know, defended, whether it's Diddy. Sean Diddy Combs. Right. Would you consider pardoning him? Well, he was essentially, I guess, sort of half innocent.

I don't know which half. Bill O'Reilly. I don't think Bill did anything wrong. I think he's a person I know well. I think he's a person I know well. He's a good person. You know, it doesn't matter. Pete Egg said he dominated to be secretary of war

after their accusations against him. The point is that Donald Trump himself has been accused more than two dozen times and he's never met a guy or a gal accused of sexual harassment, assault, pedophilia, whatever, that he wasn't willing to go defense.

Now, Tim, as we wrap this, I'd like to ask you, what do you think it is that makes Donald Trump both A, willing to do this all the time? And B, why Graham Platner, you know, he's being rightly, rightly tossed right now. Swalwell, rightly tossed. Why do Republicans think they have some leg to stand on when this is their guy? Well, Republicans think they have the leg to stand out because they're full of shit. I think the more interesting question is why does Trump do this all the time? Like, why can, does Trump feel like he can just walk a mile in the shoes of any person who is accused of sexual assault? Huh.

It kind of relates to me to the question of, like, why is Donald Trump, like, not really as excited to ban abortion as everybody else around him? Why doesn't he like to talk about banning abortion? Hmm. I kind of feel like, Brian Windhorst thing. I kind of think, huh. It's hard to figure, I guess. I mean, I think I could come up with a theory for why Donald Trump always can manage to see the perspective of the person accused of sexual assault. And never the victims.

I have an idea why that might be. But, you know, I don't know. Maybe it's all the women that he assaulted and bragged about. Oh, okay. Yeah. Well, I was going to say we can just leave this a mystery, never to be solved. Who can say? It's just an idea.

Yeah, just asking questions. I just wanted to kick this around with you because I was reminded of how often he does that. It's important. Look, it is important. You and I did a 55-minute struggle session about Graham Platner on Monday this week. So it's nice to book in the week. And you can do both of these things. Like, it is important for people in the Democrat or pro-democracy coalition or anti-Trump coalition, whatever, for everybody to like be accountable.

and to think about, you know, what types of candidates you're putting your support behind and, and, you know, where, you know, you might use judgment that, like, in retrospect, is, you know, you wish you hadn't. You know, that's personal growth analysis, trying to figure out what is best for the field. Like, all that is important. Like, all that, it's important. It's also simultaneously important just to point out that these guys are full of shit. And, like, while there can be a conversation within the co-elial,

about the right way to move forward and accountability and putting trust behind people of good character. There is absolutely no reason to even entertain the fake high horse bullshit from people who are unapologetic

supporters of a man who has tons of sexual assault accusations against him and who also is like the leading point man and leading defender of anybody who's famous who gets accused of sexual assaults. Like, these people don't have a like to stand on. They're full of shit.

And I think that, you know, that's a nice thing to remember as you head into the weekend. It is a nice thing to remember. And I'll just add to that. When we talk about sexual assault, that should be enough. That should be enough. But you can also add to that with Trump, trying to overturn an election. Unprecedented corruption. horrible racism and misogyny regularly in the way that he talks.

Lots of instances of violent rhetoric, of encouraging violence, deporting people for no reason and presiding over a deportation, an immigration regime that is leaving people dead. These people have no moral authority. And with that, Tim, I hope you have a great weekend. Great weekend to the rest of you. We'll see you guys around next time. Bye. Bye, Longwell.