Let’s start at the end of this statement and work our war back: By admitting she is not following along closely with allegations of sexual assault against the president of the United States, Pelosi telegraphs that she doesn’t particularly care about this specific allegation — or allegations of sexual assault survivors in general. She recognizes the publicity it’s gotten (which, by the way, has been paltry), but doesn’t recognize that publicity without action becomes old news as soon as Trump yells at a female athlete or escalates a foreign conflict — in other words, nearly immediately.
Carroll’s story may not have a direct affect on policy, but it’s foolish to suggest it doesn’t affect the lives of the American people. Every 92 seconds, another American is sexually assaulted, and one out of every six American women has been the victim of rape, or attempted rape, in her lifetime, according to The Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network. How are these millions of survivors of sexual assault supposed to feel when a man accused of the same crime — 24 times over! — is given license to continue going about his business by the most powerful woman in our federal government?
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