This is an adapted excerpt from the Nov. 24 episode of “Ayman.”
The phrase “We are not going back” was a mainstay of Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2024 presidential campaign. Harris pledged to move America forward, which included not going back to the misogynistic culture — and backlash to it — that gave rise to the #MeToo movement.
Trump’s selections could be seen as an “Anti-#MeToo Cabinet.”
But after Harris’ loss to Donald Trump, it appears the president-elect is on somewhat of a revenge tour against the movement, reflected in some of his Cabinet selections.
Trump’s selections could be seen as an “Anti-#MeToo Cabinet.” And sadly, that nickname still sticks despite Matt Gaetz's withdrawal as Trump’s attorney general pick. Gaetz took his name out of the running amid allegations of sexual misconduct. The Justice Department investigated sex trafficking allegations against him but concluded the probe last year without filing any charges. One woman testified before the House Ethics Committee that she saw Gaetz having sex with her 17-year-old friend at a 2017 party, the woman's lawyer told NBC News. The lawyer said his client didn't think Gaetz knew her 17-year-old friend was a minor at the time. Gaetz has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
However, there are several other Cabinet picks still standing who are embroiled in sexual abuse or misconduct allegations themselves. There’s Trump’s pick for defense secretary, former Fox News host Pete Hegseth, who’s facing scrutiny over a woman's allegation that he sexually assaulted her in a hotel in 2017.
A report by the Monterey Police Department details the accuser’s account, claiming Hegseth took her phone and blocked her from leaving his hotel room before sexually assaulting her. Hegseth was not charged, has denied any wrongdoing, and says the encounter was consensual. His lawyer acknowledged Hegseth paid the woman as part of a settlement.
Despite this, Hegseth still has Trump’s backing and the support of some Republican senators.
There’s also Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s pick to run the Department of Health and Human Services. In July, Kennedy was accused of groping one of his family’s former nannies in the 1990s. When asked about it on a podcast this summer, Kennedy didn’t deny the allegations instead stating he was not a “church boy” and had “many skeletons in [his] closet.”
Then there’s Linda McMahon, Trump’s pick to run the Department of Education. She and her husband, Vince McMahon, founded the wrestling entertainment company now known as the WWE. They are both accused of knowing about and failing to stop the sexual exploitation of young boys by a ringside announcer.
But let’s not forget who sits atop this “Anti-#MeToo Cabinet:” Trump.
The lawsuit, filed in October, alleges that five boys were sexually abused by the organization’s ringside announcer and ring crew chief, Melvin Phillips Jr., who died in 2012. The McMahons are accused of criminal negligence in the lawsuit for allowing Phillips to remain at the company for years. McMahon’s lawyer has called the allegations false.
And if it’s not a member of the Cabinet, it’s a member of Trump’s inner circle embroiled in scandal. Take his new billionaire best bud, Elon Musk. While we’re told that Musk will provide more of an outsider role, leading the Department of Government Efficiency, he certainly has Trump’s ear.
Musk and his company, SpaceX, are currently being sued by former employees alleging that Musk ordered their firings after they accused the company of tolerating sexual harassment in the workplace.
The lawsuit alleges Musk “runs his company in the dark ages — treating women as sexual objects to be evaluated on their bra size, bombarding the workplace with lewd sexual banter and offering the reprise to those who challenge the ‘Animal House’ environment that if they don’t like it they can seek employment elsewhere.”
SpaceX did not respond to NBC News' request for comment. A spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal that their reporting on the lawsuit and the culture at SpaceX painted “a completely misleading narrative” of the company.
When Trump won in 2016, it helped spark the rise of the #MeToo movement, which still seeks to hold powerful men accountable if they abuse their power. But it also sparked an ugly backlash from conservatives who, sadly, see #MeToo as a threat.
But let’s not forget who sits atop this “Anti-#MeToo Cabinet:” Trump, a man who’s been found liable for sexually abusing and defaming E. Jean Carroll and a man who campaigned on claims he’d protect women “whether they like it or not.”
Allison Detzel contributed.