By Steve Neavling
Miles Taylor, a former chief of staff in the Department of Homeland Security, levels serious allegations of “undisguised sexism” against Donald Trump in a new book, including claims that the former president made sexual comments about his daughter Ivanka.
Taylor said the allegations are part of a wider pattern of sexism and inappropriate behavior toward women in the Trump administration, according to Newsweek, which obtained an excerpt of the book.
In the book, Blowback: A Warning to Save Democracy from the Next Trump, Taylor recounts several incidents that caused women to feel uncomfortable in the administration.
One of those incidents, according to the book, is Trump’s obscene comments about Ivanka’s appearance, including “what it might be like to have sex with her.”
“There still are quite a few female leaders from the Trump administration who have held their tongues about the unequal treatment they faced in the administration at best, and the absolute naked sexism they experienced with the hands of Donald Trump at worst,” Taylor told Newsweek.
The sexism was directed at women across the administration, from low-level aides to cabinet secretaries, Taylor said.
Taylor recounts a meeting with Trump and Kirstjen Nielsen, who was secretary of the Department of Homeland Security from 2017 to 2019.
“When we were with him, Kirstjen did her best to ignore the president’s inappropriate behavior,” Taylor writes in his book. “He called her ‘sweetie’ and ‘honey,’ and critiqued her makeup and outfits.”
Following one of the comments, Nielsen whispered to Taylor, “Trust me, this is not a healthy workplace for women,” according to the book.
Taylor said Kellyanne Conway, who served as Trump’s senior counselor, once called Trump a “misogynistic bully” after he had “berated” several female leaders in the administration.
Taylor has admitted he was the author of an anonymous 2018 op-ed in The New York Times in which he alleged he was part of a group of staffers working against Trump from inside the administration.
