We all know the story. On August 31 1997, Princess Diana was fatally injured in a car crash in the Pont de l’Alma road tunnel in Paris. Her death sent shock waves around the world. In the U.K. half of the entire country’s population sat glued to the television. The atypically British outpouring of grief that followed took many aback and for some was little more than a collective moment of madness.
Today is the 19th anniversary of her death and although she remains a polarizing figure, few can deny that Diana touched lives.
A Complex Character
Like everyone else on this planet she was a flawed, and complex creature. She was the focus of intense media scrutiny from the moment her engagement to the heir to the British throne was announced. Almost every aspect of her private life was an open book and at times it was apparent that she both courted celebrity and shrank back from it. The subtleties of such a dichotomy are often lost on less fertile minds.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, is in possession of one such mind. His views on the late princess are somewhat less refined, somewhat more one-dimensional. To Trump, she was nothing more than a sexual conquest that might have been.
Princess Diana Was Crazy
“She had the height, she had the beauty, she had the skin,”
He told Howard Stern on one of his many appearances on the shock jock’s show.
“She was crazy.”
“But these are minor details. I would have slept with her, without hesitation.”
How lucky for Diana! And how selfish of her to die under such tragic circumstances before he was able to consummate.
It would appear that nothing can deter Trump from objectifying women. He combines equal quantities of innuendo and bragging into a near palpable level of sleaze so potent, that even men feel creeped out listening to it. His track record on such matters is appalling, and points to a man who rates women by appearance and appearance alone. To Trump, Marla Maples, his ex-wife was adequately described simply by using the phrase:
“Nice tits, no brains.”
More recently he described Fox news anchor Megan Kelly as a:
“Bimbo and a llight-weight.”
He also implied that her tough line of questioning-ironically relating to misogynistic comments Trump had made in the past-was somehow connected with her menstrual cycle.
It is little wonder that his approval rating is at rock bottom. Seven out of every ten women view him unfavorably. We can only assume that the other three haven’t really being paying attention.
A History Of Stalking
Still, this is Trump we are talking about, and no statement from him can be taken at face value. His belief that he could have slept with Lady Diana is hardly surprising; he thinks that of every woman he meets. Apparently, and I know this might come as something of a shock, he severely overestimated his chances.
British journalist Selina Scott is no stranger to Trump’s clumsy attempts at seduction. She once described him as a:
“Comb over creep who hates women.”
Scott met Trump while making a documentary in 1995. Early on in the shoot, Trump engaged in a number of failed and clumsy attempts to seduce her. His charm offensive was quickly supplanted by bitterness, and a relentless series of abusive letters that only stopped once Scott threatened legal action.
No, Mr. Trump, You Couldn’t Have
Writing in the Sunday Times in 2015, she recalled that Trump behaved in a similar fashion towards Princess Diana. Upon hearing of her divorce from Prince Charles, Trump immediately began:
“Bombarding Diana at Kensington Palace with massive bouquets of flowers, each worth hundreds of pounds.”
As the bouquets piled up, Diana became increasingly worried, admitting to Scott over dinner that Trump:
“Gives me the creeps.”
That the man’s biggest regret concerning princess Diana is that he never got to sleep with her, speaks volumes about his sense of decorum. Still, what else should we expect from a man who looks increasingly unfit to be president? Or indeed, from a man who compares himself favorably to Alexander the great, in a pizza commercial of all things.
Watch Selina Scott describe Trump as an unreconstructed misogynist:
Featured image via YouTube screengrab.
