Donald Trump, whose presidential campaign was nearly derailed by sexual harassment charges and his boasts about groping women, tweeted Wednesday - International Women's Day - that he had "tremendous respect" for women. "I have tremendous respect for women and the many roles they serve that are vital to the fabric of our society and our economy," Trump wrote on Twitter.
He later added: "On International Women's Day, join me in honouring the critical role of women here in America & around the world." There were thousands of responses to Trump's tweet, most of them criticising the president for the way his health care and immigration policies affect women and families. "@realDonaldTrump don't wrench women and their children apart at the border. End the crusade against women's health care," wrote @MariaMelee.
"There's not evidence of 45's respect for women," wrote a woman by the handle of BintibirdC. "Women are props & products for him. That is all." Trump faced a spate of sexual misconduct accusations in the weeks leading up to the election. He denied any wrongdoing and vowed to sue the more than a dozen women behind the claims, although no lawsuit had been filed yet. Many of the charges came after a 2005 videotape of Trump bragging about grabbing women "by the pussy" surfaced in early October. Trump claimed that his taped comments were "locker-room banter," and denounced the sex assault allegations as lies and fabricated stories.