Donald Trump has gone on the offensive against Hillary Clinton, claiming she was the "enabler" of her husband's affairs. But if that's the case, and if affairs are so bad, what does that say about the GOP nominee's own past?
Many of us, with me included, were surprised when President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton didn't split up after so many of his affairs. He certainly weakened his legacy with them, and tarnished the image and respect of the Oval Office, no matter what his approval rating was.
Some were surprised that she chose to stay with him. Some felt sorry for her. But Trump has sought a new label for her: "the enabler" of Bill Clinton's affairs. It's a curious tactic, especially for someone who brags that he loves women and will win their support in the Fall of 2016, no matter his historically low support among women for a presumptive nominee of either party.
If Trump is right, and being an enabler of affairs is bad, then affairs must be bad as well. It doesn't say much for a man with multiple affairs. US Magazine has an interview with Ivana Trump, while Huffington Post has an interview with Trump's second wife, Marla Maples. Yet like Bill Clinton, the ones we know about may just be the tip of the iceberg.
I believe there's a saying for Trump's words. It involves living in a glass house, and throwing stones.
But Trump didn't always feel that Bill's affairs were so bad, according to the NY Daily News.
"He [Trump] had been much more sympathetic about Clinton's sex life in 2001, shortly after Clinton left office, telling an Australian reporter how awful it was that Clinton had been asked if he'd had sex with Monica Lewinsky. 'What he should have done is fought for years not to answer it,' said Donald."
There's another applicable saying. "It takes one to know one."
But who are Trump's enablers? They are his adoring fans. I'm not talking about conservatives who wanted Ted Cruz or John Kasich or Marco Rubio or Jeb Bush badly, and are forced into the choice of accepting Trump or boycotting the convention and skipping the election.
Here's an example of an enabler, and it comes from another media celebrity who likes Trump, from "rightwingwatch.org."
In early April, Anne Coulter appeared on the Eric Metaxas show to tout Trump's virtues. When the host said "His vice of choice was adultery," Coulter replied "Allegedly."
When Metaxas detailed the affairs, Coulter responded "we have degrees of murder, we can have degrees of adultery....It's not his strongest point. Oh well, he's the only one who's going to build the wall."
During Clinton's impeachment, supporters did not condone the affair with Monica Lewinsky, or anyone else. They claimed that it was not an offense worthy of removing the president from office. Coulter's words are a lot closer to condoning affairs, something that should never be done. That's what an enabler is.
John A. Tures is a professor of political science at LaGrange College in LaGrange, Ga. He can be reached at jtures@lagrange.edu.