Donald Trump calls Megyn Kelly a Bimbo again!?

Last summer, Fox News commentator Megyn Kelly asked Donald Trump a question in the first Republican debate:

Kelly: You’ve called women you don’t like: fat pigs, dogs, slobs, and disgusting animals…”

Trump interrupted: “Only Rosie O’Donnell.”

In the audience, hundreds of people laughed, roared, cheered, and applauded.

Kelly replied: “No it wasn’t.”

People continued to cheer, applaud, whistle, and howl.

Trump said: “Thank you.”

Kelly: “For the record, it was well beyond Rosie O’Donnell.”

Trump frankly admitted: “Yes, I’m sure it was.”

Kelly: “Your Twitter account has several disparaging comments about women’s looks. You once told a contestant on Celebrity Apprentice it would be a pretty picture to see her on her knees. Does that sound to you like the temperament of a man we should elect as President…?”

(Bear in mind that this sounds far more awful than it was. The contestant did not remember the incident, and she insists: “I’ve always had a positive experience around Donald. He’s always been encouraging. He’s never been disrespectful to me.”)

Trump replied that a big problem is political correctness. The audience cheered again. He added: “frankly, what I say, and oftentimes, it’s fun, it’s kidding, we have a good time, what I say is what I say. And honestly, Megyn, if you don’t like it, I’m sorry. I’ve been very nice to you, although I could probably maybe not be, based on the way you have treated me…”

After the debate, he proceeded to do just that. In a previous article, I discussed a way in which Trump supposedly attacked Kelly, But let’s discuss another one.

On August 7, onTwitter, Trump posted a message in which someone had called Megyn Kelly a bimbo:

"@timjcam: @megynkelly @FrankLuntz @realDonaldTrump Fox viewers give low marks to bimbo @MegynKelly will consider other programs!"

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 7, 2015

On August 24, Trump posted another message in which someone else called her a bimbo:

"@mstanish53: @realDonaldTrump @megynkelly The bimbo back in town . I hope not for long ."

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 25, 2015

Many writers then portrayed this as being Trump’s own insult, since he did not criticize the word.

Months later, Trump used the same word. After refusing to participate in the last Republican debate because Megyn Kelly would participate, Trump himself wrote this:

I refuse to call Megyn Kelly a bimbo, because that would not be politically correct. Instead I will only call her a lightweight reporter!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 27, 2016

Back in August, when I first saw that he had (practically) called her a bimbo, I was a bit stunned. I thought that it was an offensive and demeaning term. To me, it sounded similar to being called “a slut,” or “a whore,” or some such insult. I could understand why many people were offended by the word.

But wait, I thought. Is that what Trump really meant? Is that really what the word means? For some reason, I checked the dictionary. Here’s what it says: “an attractive but unintelligent woman.”

I suddenly remembered: of course! That’s really what the word means. Somehow I had assumed the worst possible interpretations.

I remember in the 1980’s there were some TV sit-coms in which, say, Jack approaches his friend Larry in a bar, sees him talking with a young, tall, attractive woman. She’s dressed in an attractive dress and laughs loudly at whatever Larry is saying. Then she walks away for a moment. Then Jack asks his friend, “So… who’s the bimbo?”

It was not a major insult. It did not mean: “Who is the prostitute?” Instead, the phrase seemed to have connotations such as jealousy, being desirable, sexy, but maybe also a bit dumb or vapid.

So sure, other dictionaries have additional words, such as “stupid,” or they add a clause about “loose morals.” But the basic, most common meaning is about a woman who is attractive but unintelligent.

Personally, I don’t think that Megyn Kelly is unintelligent. I actually think she’s very intelligent, capable, professional, and accomplished.

But here’s my point. Think of anyone who is deeply annoyed and offended by Trump’s decision to use or quote the word “bimbo” in reference to Megyn Kelly. Countless many people who think that Trump is sexist and offensive also think and proclaim two things about him: that he’s ugly and unintelligent.

So, in a way, Trump’s supposedly huge insult against Megyn Kelly is half as bad as what countless many people say about Trump.

By calling her a bimbo, he’s saying that she’s attractive. So half the word is a compliment. The other half is an insult. But it’s the same insult (e.g., unintelligent, dumb, stupid, idiotic, incompetent, etc.) that countless many people use against one another every day. Especially in politics.

Well, maybe not half and half. We must recognize that words change over time, and perhaps a word that was part of light-hearted banter in the 1980s is now a much more offensive term. Now the word is essentially a sexist insult.

Clearly, the word bimbo is often used in a sexist way. Never do we hear that a man is called a bimbo. So I do not mean to endorse sexism in any way. I would not call anyone a bimbo.

My only point is that we should bear in mind what words actually mean, rather than instantly take them to mean the worst possible insult. Only then can we understand why not everyone is equally offended by the same words.