NY Times Columnist Seems to Lay Blame on Trump Over Cornell 7 Case: ‘Thuggish and Swaggering’ Culture ‘Starts’ With Him

The New York Times opinion writer Michelle Cottle suggested President Donald Trump is to blame for the “thuggish” culture infecting America — which she said was on full display in the sordid text messages sent by the Cornell frat boys accused of gang raping a female student.

Cottle discussed the alleged rape during a roundtable panel the Sunday episode of ABC’s This Week. She said the messages sent during the alleged crime — including one guy saying there was “free p*ssy” available for other frat members — showed the president has warped the minds of millions of Americans.

“It’s a fundamental disrespect for women,” Cottle said the messages showed. “You can’t send those messages, no matter how drunk you are as a frat boy, without having some kind of misunderstanding about what women are there for and whether this is a real person you are dealing with.”

She continued, “And that, I think, starts — you know, we can go to the president for this one. I mean, we’re in a moment in this culture where the glorification of being thuggish and swaggering and mistreating women is kind of making you a cool kid.”

Her claim about Trump comes as the alleged 2024 crime has become a national news story over the past few weeks.

The Jane Doe in the case has claimed she was too inebriated to consent to the group sex and drug use she participated in. She made her rape claim weeks after texting one of her alleged perpetrators, “At the end of the day non [sic] of the sexual stuff was illegal and honestly I really liked being with u” — which, among other messages, has led to many saying the rape claims are bogus; the local DA declined to pursue charges against the seven men accused, but New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) appointed Letitia James as special prosecutor last week to probe it further.

Cottle on Sunday said the text messages from the frat boys raised “questions about responsibility and what you owe somebody, not even legally, but as a decent human being.”

Watch above.

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