Donald Trump has made some seriously controversial statements during his campaign for presidency in 2016. From calling Mexican immigrants “rapists” to claiming John McCain was “only a war hero because he was captured,” Trump has made hefty claims that he doesn’t feel he needs to apologize for. He most damaged his campaign, however, when he directly attacked Fox News journalist Megyn Kelly after the Republican debate at the beginning of August.

Trump may have trouble grasping the votes of women, but he doesn’t make much attempt to attract women politically anyway. Kelly mentioned the fact that Trump refers to women as animals and sexual beings, and completely disregards them as businesswomen, equals and, in this case, journalists. Trump responded after the debate by saying that Kelly was a “lightweight” and had “blood coming out of her wherever.”

Through these statements, we can foresee just the type misogynistic president Donald Trump would be if elected. For decades, the feminism movement has worked to create equality of the sexes, but Trump appears to pay no mind to those efforts. He continually degrades women, and it’s clear he has no regard for women’s rights whatsoever.

Although it is still early in the presidential race, and Trump’s comments may not have much of an impact on the election itself, they have an impact on the feminist movement. A public figure like Donald Trump participating on the “war on women,” as Rosie O’Donnell explains, pushes feminism back and hurts the Republican Party as well. By implicitly supporting the superiority of men, as a Republican candidate, Trump gives the party a bad name standing by the negative rhetoric he uses to describe women. This also hurts his campaign by erasing female support.

By implying that Kelly a bad journalist because of her gender and her “ridiculous” questions about women’s rights, Trump is further encouraging the assumed superiority of men in politics and journalism. Furthermore, he discourages women to be politically active and involved in national affairs.

Trump claims that he doesn’t “have time for political correctness,” but he mistakes political correctness with respect. Calling women “pigs”, “dogs”, and other demeaning names isn’t politically incorrect so much as it is just downright disrespectful. Trump fired these hateful statements specifically at Rosie O’Donnell during the debate, to which O’Donnell responded, “Women fought for equality in this country, and right now, politically, it’s being taken away from us.”

In truth, it is. Donald Trump is, once again, taking the feminist movement and making it a joke in the eyes of the Republican Party. His supporters have continuously expressed that he is “real,” and that he is simply voicing the opinions that most people don’t have the courage to voice. It is clear, however, that Trump’s comments are hurtful and demeaning, and choosing him as the Republican candidate for the 2016 election would not be in anyone’s best interest, men or women alike.

Karly Dunn is a Collegian contributor and can be reached at [email protected].