The idea that Donald Trump will reverse the “pussification” of America has been one commonly repeated by his supporters during the presidential campaign. Monday night at a rally in Manchester, New Hampshire, Trump made this theme literally explicit by calling Ted Cruz a pussy.
Here’s New York magazine quoting the remark, which involved Trump repeating something that an audience member was shouting while Trump complained that Cruz apparently isn’t aggressive enough about torture policy:
“You know what she said? Shout it because I don’t want to say it,” he said. “OK, you’re not allowed to say [it], and I never expect to hear that from you again. She said—I never expect to hear that from you again! She said he’s a pussy.”
(The approach of merely repeating someone else’s crass remark about an opponent fits generally with Trump’s theme of framing obnoxious comments as criticisms he’s not making.)
The woman in the audience later told Mic that she supports Trump because he has large, watermelon-sized testicles.
Trump defended the remark on an MSNBC appearance: “We were all just having fun. It was a great moment—I got a standing ovation, the place went wild.”
You know, if this paunchy real estate heir who can’t even own up to his own crass remarks is America’s best hope for restoring a bold masculine character to our metaphorical genitals, we actually might be in trouble.
Also in Slate: How Did Pussy Come to Mean a Cat, a Coward, and Female Genitalia?
