Note on language and usage upcoming.
Though Trump is a vile misogynist and has committed most likely many sexual assaults, the phrase “grab ’em by the pussy” doesn’t mean what many people think it means.
It is not referring to physically grabbing a woman by her genitals. It is sales speak and it is used in the same context as “That ad campaign really grabbed them!” What Trump was ineptly referring to is that in his view to get a woman to do what you want, you have to stimulate her prurient urges and not her intellect.
I am not defending Trump. He admitted to sexual assault of another type in the same damn statement. I just like understanding things fully. It pisses people off, I know, but I just can’t seem to stop.
And this is your friendly neighborhood language maven, signing off.
Ah yes, context.
I would sign off on that meaning except for 1) “He admitted to sexual assault of another type in the same damn sentence” and 2) everything else about him and 3)the entirety of the rest of that clip.
“Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.
Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything” doesn’t sound like he’s talking about getting women to freely consent to anything or “stimulating their prurient urges”. It sounds like “fame means they won’t protest overtly to outrageous overtures”. If he had said something like “You’ve got to grab them by the pussy. Wine ’em dine ’em, hire a 3rd rate entertainer as your mood music, drop hints all night” maybe your definition would make sense in context.
I see your point — but I still think he is switching modes ineptly between talking about kissing someone against her will and using that to segue into a more metaphorical point, “grab ’em…..” But with Trump, how to tell for sure?