The dust has barely settled on the biggest scandal yet concerning the Republican presidential nominee. A leaked recording of Donald Trump describing what can only be deemed sexual assault has sparked a global outcry. In the aftermath of the lewd statements, the international media and many in Trump's own party have explicitly condemned the candidate’s vulgar and misogynistic comments.
Read More: Trump's Comments on Sexual Harassment Infuriate the Internet
Yet, Trump has at least one potential defender. The man both formerly and currently known as the leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), Nigel Farage.
Here is what he had to say about Donald Trump's graphic comments:
“This is alpha male boasting. It’s the kind of thing that — if we’re being honest — that men do. They sit around and have a drink and they talk like this.”
He goes on to compare Trump’s words to the kinds of things women apparently also talk about behind closed doors, but insists: “I’m not pretending it’s good – it’s ugly, it is ugly.”
The tone of the vocal Brexiteer’s comments are markedly different to his attitude earlier this year. In the run up to the EU referendum, he opted for tactics denounced as "scaremongering," insinuating that British women would be under threat from sexual attack by migrants entering the EU.
Referring to the New Year’s Eve attacks in Cologne, he said “cultural issues” posed a big threat to women in the UK. When asked whether he thought a similar attack could occur in Britain in an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, he said: “It depends if they get EU passports. It depends if we vote for Brexit or not. It is an issue.”
In this case "they" refers to migrants and refugees arriving in Europe.
Spot the difference?
Sexual assault is a serious issue, whoever it is committed by. There’s no space for concession when it comes to a woman’s body. It is indefensible in all circumstances.
In this instance, Trump-supporting UK politicians should remember that in the same way that “Brexit means Brexit, “no” means “no.”
Read More: More Than Half of Women in the UK Are Sexually Harassed at Work