Let me start this out by saying that I personally have no confirmation whether the following is true. But I do feel that the job of the news is to deliver what’s on the grapevine, and continue to follow up if necessary, especially in cases like this.
We recently reported on journalist Mark Halperin’s cryptic message that he has been pitched a story for his program that would “end Trump’s campaign” if it’s true. And while Halperin himself said that he doesn’t believe it, chances are greater than zero that it is, in fact, entirely true.
I say that not because I’m predisposed to believe everything negative about Trump. To the contrary, I often withhold judgment for exactly the same reasons that Halperin outlined on his YouTube show, Morning Meeting: People definitely use the news, now that a certain candidate has made it so that opinions are given as much weight as facts, to sway others to their own thinking.
I actually believe this because it holds true with everything we know about Donald Trump.
We know he’s a liar, we know he’s a fascist [1], we know he’s insecure [2], and we know he projects all of that [3] onto his opponents whenever he’s accused of being any of those things.
Mostly, however, we know — legally — that he is a sex offender [4]. And that’s what it turns out the big secret is. Keith Edwards, a Democratic strategist that 60 Minutes has called a “social guru,” posted today that there is possibly video of Donald Trump acting inappropriately with an underage guest at a donor dinner.
BREAKING: I have been told that Trump groped a minor at one of his donor dinners — and that there’s video.
— Keith Edwards (@keithedwards) October 23, 2024 [5]
Other posters on social media site X followed. User “Mayo” told her 400,000 followers the same:
Holy shit, it sounds like Donald Trump was caught on video fondling a young girl who happened to be the daughter of one of his wealthy donors. 😳
— Mayo 🤍 (@MayoIsSpicyy) October 23, 2024 [6]
Others, including satirist “Rep. Jack Kimble” (who touts himself as a representative of California’s 54th District, in a state with only 53), pointed out the obvious in pretty funny ways:
Rumors are out there that Donald Trumped groped a donor’s teenage daughter and it’s on video. Do the silly Democrats really think this would get even one Trump supporter to stop supporting him? It’s not like there wasn’t plenty of this sort of news already.
— Rep. Jack Kimble (@RepJackKimble) October 23, 2024 [7]
If Donald Trump groped a minor at one of his donor dinners and it was caught on video would MAGA still support him?
Just wondering.
— Ed Krassenstein (@EdKrassen) October 23, 2024 [8]
Whether it’s just a social media rumor or there’s actual truth to it, one thing is certain. If this turns out to be true and it doesn’t derail his campaign, then MAGA voters care even less about protecting young girls from sex pests like Trump than they do about the women he’s bragged about groping, the immigrants he calls rapists, or the disabled reporters he makes fun of.
They just don’t care.
Watch for updates as the story develops.