Tuesday, Donald Trump fired back at the young woman who confronted him about equal pay and the right to choose what she does with her body. In a tweet, he called her an “arrogant young woman.” But, I didn’t get that Lauren Rose Batschelder (18) was arrogant. She was passionate. When Trump interrupted her before she could ask her question, Batschelder was rightfully angry.
Check out his twitter response about Batschelder below. Note: None of the media is quite clear about the meaning of his last sentence:
The arrogant young woman who questioned me in such a nasty fashion at No Labels yesterday was a Jeb staffer! HOW CAN HE BEAT RUSSIA & CHINA?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 13, 2015
The incident took place at the bipartisan “No Labels” convention in Manchester, New Hampshire Monday. Several presidential candidates attended including Trump, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Batschelder began her question asking for Trump to prove her wrong:
“Maybe I’m wrong, maybe you can prove me wrong, but I don’t think you’re a friend to women.”
Trump sliced into her question with a less than funny quip:
“I knew I shouldn’t have picked her. I respect women incredibly.”
Trump went on to say he is going to take care of women and that he respects and cherishes women while Batschelder stood fuming, hands on her hips. Finally, she got to finish her question. I loved how she raised her eyebrows in a come-on-show-me-what-you-have expression:
“I want to get paid the same as a man, and I think you understand that. So if you become president, will a woman make the same as a man, and do I get to choose what I do with my body?”
I was interested to see that all the videos stop before they caught Trump’s response to the second part of her question about the right to govern her own body. This is Trump’s full response:
“You’re going to make the same if you do as good a job. And I happen to be pro-life. OK? I’m pro-life.”
According to Fox 8, Batschelder is listed on social media posts as an intern for Jeb Bush’s presidential campaign. She also indicated she attended events with candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.
In a September Manchester town hall, she questioned Bernie Sanders about sexual assault on college campuses, indicating that she had been a victim herself. Sanders thanked her, saying that it took courage for her to stand and share this story:
“I know that’s not any easy thing to do, but you made that decision, that you were not going to take it, and you were going to stand up and talk about what happened to you and a whole lot of women in this country.”
Jeb Bush’s spokeswoman Allie Brandenburger commented:
“Like many in New Hampshire, Lauren is a student at St. Anselm’s who is passionate about and active in politics and attended this event on her own accord. While this question was not sanctioned by the campaign, we can’t help but notice Mr. Trump does seem to be very sensitive about being challenged by women.”
Trump comes across as extremely thin-skinned. He should get used to dealing with people who do not adore him. On the presidential campaign trail, he will have to deal with many who do not like him.
You can watch the video of the exchange and decide for yourself about the Batschelder-Trump interaction.
