Melissa McEwan

After getting billions worth of free press, Trump whines about media bias

Election is being rigged by the media, in a coordinated effort with the Clinton campaign, by putting stories that never happened into news! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 16, 2016 A number of Donald Trump’s surrogates have attempted to spin his dangerous rhetoric on election rigging by saying he is only referring to the […]

By Melissa McEwan - October 17, 2016

Painting Trump as the victim of media bias is the worst kind of revisionist history

Following is my tweetstorm about Donald Trump’s laughable claim that the national media are conspiring against him and favoring Hillary Clinton. https://twitter.com/Shakestweetz/status/788400049051037696 2. There are copious examples of narratives and hostile postures to which Hillary Clinton has been subjected and Trump has not. — Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) October 18, 2016 3. The media have not […]

By Melissa McEwan - October 18, 2016

Clinton’s commanding ground game

Hillary Clinton campaigns hard, whether she is ahead in the polls or trailing in the polls. She does not take anything for granted. Not the unpredictable nature of national politics, not votes, and not the voters who cast them. She has said, often, that she is working for every last vote and that she will […]

By Melissa McEwan - October 11, 2016

How Hillary Clinton is reenacting The Matrix

It is not a superhero at the center of the Matrix films, but Keanu Reeves’ Neo — a human with extraordinary gifts; a reluctant leader; a person whose willingness to try despite long odds inspires profound loyalty from the people who fight at his side. That description reminds me, in many ways, of Hillary Clinton. […]

By Melissa McEwan - October 17, 2016

Lewandowski and Scarborough offer a master class in revictimization

That CNN contributor Corey Lewandowski, who is still on Donald Trump’s payroll, would push back against allegations made about Trump is hardly surprising. It is notable, however, how very precisely his defense follows a familiar script employed against survivors of sexual assault. Lewandowski hit all the high notes of rape apologia: He finds the timing […]

By Melissa McEwan - October 13, 2016

In the midst of mud-slinging and chaos, Clinton keeps rolling out smart policies

https://twitter.com/anamariecox/status/785962173461848064 Hillary Clinton faces an opponent who has confessed to groping women without their consent, who has twice incited violence against her, and who presides over rallies at which people call for her imprisonment and execution. The Republican Party continues to pursue her with partisan fishing expeditions, and Trump promises to jail her if he is elected. Large […]

By Melissa McEwan - October 12, 2016

Al Gore: “Your vote really, really, counts … consider me Exhibit A”

In Florida, a state already feeling the effects of climate change and the site of the tumultuous battle for the presidency in 2000, Al Gore campaigned with Hillary Clinton, endorsing her climate change policy and reminding voters that, yes, their votes count. “Your vote really, really, really counts,” Gore said with a chuckle. “A lot. […]

By Melissa McEwan - October 11, 2016

Pence joins Trump in trying to delegitimize election results

This is your regular reminder that Mike Pence is just Donald Trump without the theatrics: As Trump disgorges broadsides about how “this whole thing is rigged” at campaign events, Pence is doing the same thing via his preferred subtler route. “Look, you know, it’s the old cliché, the only poll that really matters, they finish […]

By Melissa McEwan - October 14, 2016

Michelle Obama delivers exquisite speech on the ethics of Clinton vs Trump

https://twitter.com/Shakestweetz/status/786613393075625984 Speaking for the first time after 11 women came forward in a single day to report having been sexually assaulted by Donald Trump, Michelle Obama was emotional as she recounted what it is like for her as a woman to hear “how he has treated women his whole life.” “And I have to tell […]

By Melissa McEwan - October 13, 2016

Republican Sen. Mark Kirk: U.S. president is “the national father”

During an interview with WBEZ’s Jennifer White, Senator Mark Kirk, currently locked in a tight battle with his opponent, Rep. Tammy Duckworth, was asked why Trump’s talk about sexually assaulting women was a line in the sand for him: White: You know Senator Kirk, Donald Trump has been criticized for comments he’s made about other […]

By Melissa McEwan - October 11, 2016

Indiana’s opioid epidemic a critical factor in Senate race

In 2010, “prescription drugs were involved in more than half of the 38,300 overdose deaths that year, and opioid pain relievers were involved in over 16,600 of these deaths. There were about 3,000 drug poisoning deaths related to heroin.” Indiana has been hit particularly hard. The Indianapolis Star’s Matthew Tully described the problem as “one […]

By Melissa McEwan - October 10, 2016

Dear Donald, from one pissed off American woman

Dear Donald, Over and over, I have heard you say that a Trump presidency would be good for women. That you cherish women. That nobody respects women more than you do. That nobody is better for women than you are. That, sir, is garbage. And you know it. There are lots and lots of people […]

By Melissa McEwan - October 15, 2016

UPDATED: New allegations surface about Trump’s inappropriate behavior with women and girls

BREAKING: Miss Teen USA (ages 14-19) contestants say Trump walked in on them changing https://t.co/grlCFfNNos pic.twitter.com/nVoSlMZEDA — Florida Democrats (@FlaDems) October 12, 2016 This is now the second report in a week that Trump made a habit of walking in on pageant contestants in various stages of undress, and bragging about how he “gets away with […]

By Melissa McEwan - October 12, 2016

Mike Pence co-sponsored legislation that limited the definition of rape

Dozens of Republicans have condemned Donald Trump’s sickening comments about assaulting women, and a number have also rescinded their endorsements. Others have called for Trump to drop out of the race and allow Mike Pence to assume the top of the GOP presidential ticket. Rep. Jason Chaffetz, for example, called into CNN to haughtily express […]

By Melissa McEwan - October 08, 2016

Trump has exposed the rot at the core of the Republican Party

One of the limitations of a predominantly two-party system in a vastly diverse nation, comprised of many demographics with competing desires and needs, is that parties have to form their base by building coalitions. There are challenges for both parties in bringing together disparate groups who share enough in common to work in concert to […]

By Melissa McEwan - October 18, 2016

Will.I.Am’s raw emotion about Trump is heartwrenching

On AM Joy, Joy Reid asked Will.I.Am what he thinks the biggest fear is among the creative community about a Donald Trump presidency. Will.I.Am became emotional as he expressed how deeply sad Trump’s candidacy has made him, because Trump doesn’t appear to care about anyone but himself. This is just sad. I don’t— I can’t […]

By Melissa McEwan - October 16, 2016

United Steelworkers calls for investigation of steel used for Trump project in Vegas

As part of his series for Newsweek digging into Donald Trump’s business practices, Kurt Eichenwald reported that Trump used imported Chinese steel on at least two of his last three construction projects. For one of those projects, the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, which was completed in 2008, Eichenwald traced the source of the […]

By Melissa McEwan - October 09, 2016

Wildest presidential debate ends with Trump endorsing Clinton’s tenacity

Donald Trump spent the entire debate stalking Hillary Clinton around the stage, sniffing, being belligerent, lying, throwing his running mate under the bus, saying he would throw Clinton in jail if he were president, and defending condoning sexual assault as “locker room talk.” Clinton, meanwhile, comported herself with the usual competence, composure, and dignity. Trump tried over […]

By Melissa McEwan - October 09, 2016

How Mike Pence defied Hoosiers and stripped Glenda Ritz of power

https://twitter.com/Shakestweetz/status/784992488067043328 Following two Republican governors — privatization champion Mitch Daniels and his successor Mike Pence, aided by the Republican-controlled Indiana legislature — my home state of Indiana has lots of problems. Among them is the sorry state of the public school system, which has suffered from budget cuts, privatization efforts which have predictably led to […]

By Melissa McEwan - October 09, 2016

THE CHOICE: A feminist who values women versus a sexist who shames them

Update October 7, 2016: After the Washington Post published a lewd 2005 recording in which Donald Trump boasts about unsolicited groping of women, the words below have taken on new relevance. September 30, 2016: Election Day is a few weeks away. In one corner, we have a history-making female candidate who has spent her career advocating for women […]

By Melissa McEwan - September 30, 2016

Hillary Clinton gives timeless advice to her 11-year-old self

Marley Dias’ entire interview with Hillary Clinton is both smart and adorable, but I was particularly drawn to Clinton’s response to Marley’s incisive question about what advice she’d give her 11-year-old self: If you had to give any advice to your 11-year-old self what would you say to her? I would say that when you […]

By Melissa McEwan - October 06, 2016

Trump tells terminally ill people to stay alive long enough to vote for him

Campaigning in Nevada, Donald Trump told his crowd, to roaring laughter, that he “doesn’t care how sick” someone is; they need to cling to life long enough to get to the polls on Election Day to cast a vote for him. “I don’t care how sick you are,” he says. “I don’t care if you […]

By Melissa McEwan - October 06, 2016

Fred Trump illegally used millions in casino chips to keep debt-ridden Donald afloat

Donald Trump is not the wildly successful businessman he has portrayed himself to be. And following his devastatingly bad business decisions in the 1980s — many of which are detailed in this 1990 Fortune profile — Trump was obliged to turn to his father for multiple bailouts. The New York Times reports: Mr. Trump, the Republican […]

By Melissa McEwan - October 04, 2016

Meet Mike Pence, Trump’s worse half

When Hillary Clinton first chose Tim Kaine as her running mate, he was described as “vanilla nice” — “humble-but-sturdy” and “squeaky-clean.” A “steady hand” with unassailable ethics. He’s “personable but unassuming.” He charmingly burst out laughing on Meet the Press when asked about his reputation for being boring. “I am boring,” he said with a […]

By Melissa McEwan - October 04, 2016

Now we know what “doing anything to win” really looks like

Ambitious women must inevitably contend with accusations that they are driven by unfettered ego, that they are ruthless in their pursuit of power, that they will stop at nothing to achieve their objectives. They are called entitled, unscrupulous, scheming, dishonest. They are accused of regarding themselves as queens, and they are described in the most unflattering terms. […]

By Melissa McEwan - October 03, 2016

“Trump is a failed businessman” video has more than 6 million views

In 2000, Donald Trump told Fortune magazine: “It’s very possible that I could be the first presidential candidate to run and make money on it.” And so, it seems, he has. In August alone, Trump paid more than $500,000 to businesses he owns—which brings the grand total to more than $8.2 million. To his own […]

By Melissa McEwan - September 28, 2016

Giuliani and Christie celebrate Trump for losing nearly a billion dollars and not paying taxes

Oliver Wendell Holmes once said, “Taxes are what we pay for civilized society.” He liked paying taxes; with them, he argued, he helped build the nation. This is clearly not the view of Donald Trump, who, when confronted by Hillary Clinton during their first debate on the likelihood of his not having paid taxes, responded: […]

By Melissa McEwan - October 02, 2016

Donald Trump is a failed businessman

Donald Trump hasn’t served a day in public office. He doesn’t know a thing about policy. He has never studied law or served in the military. His only asserted qualification for the U.S. presidency is that he’s a successful businessman who will make “the best deals.” But Trump’s self-proclaimed business acumen is just another lie. […]

By Melissa McEwan - September 23, 2016

Clinton gives landmark address on disability and the economy

As Hillary Clinton noted in her address, 1 out of 5 Americans has a disability (or multiple disabilities), some of them more visible than others. I am one of those people, and this address meant a great deal to me. I am fortunate that my disability has not, so far, prevented me from working. Not […]

By Melissa McEwan - September 21, 2016

Why older women are so enthusiastic about Hillary Clinton

One of the pervasive (and inexplicable) storylines of this election has been that there is “low enthusiasm” for Hillary Clinton. This is, of course, entirely false. A candidate does not get to be a major party’s presidential nominee if they inspire little enthusiasm — and Clinton certainly wouldn’t break a 227-year barrier against female nominees if there was no enthusiasm […]

By Melissa McEwan - September 29, 2016