Donald Trump made waves Saturday when he threatened to invite Gennifer Flowers, who had an affair with Bill Clinton in the 1970s, to sit in the front row of the first presidential debate.
Trump was upset that Mark Cuban, a billionaire and Trump antagonist, had been invited to attend the debate by the Clinton campaign.
If dopey Mark Cuban of failed Benefactor fame wants to sit in the front row, perhaps I will put Gennifer Flowers right alongside of him!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 24, 2016
Cuban endorsed Clinton at an event in Pittsburgh in July, calling Trump “batshit crazy.”
Still, inviting a woman who had an affair with your husband decades ago seemed to be taking things to another level. Flowers quickly accepted the invitation.
Hi Donald. You know I'm in your corner and will definitely be at the debate!…💋
— Gennifer Flowers (@gennflowers) September 24, 2016
Upon further consideration, it seems the Trump campaign determined that this tactic would not help Trump, particularly among women.
On Sunday morning, Trump’s campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, announced that they had not formally invited Flowers and don’t expect her to attend as a guest of the campaign.
Separately, however, a “Trump insider” released a statement to Fox News, describing Flowers as a “failure” of Hillary Clinton.
Blaming a woman for her husband’s infidelities is a sexist trope that has been deployed before by the Trump campaign.
When Anthony Weiner, the estranged husband of Clinton aide Huma Abedin, became entangled in new sexting scandal, Trump was quick to blame Clinton.
Trump to @patrickhealynyt @amychozick on Huma: https://t.co/OVl6KyHi21 pic.twitter.com/Y60r3CaHWH
— Nick Corasaniti (@NYTnickc) August 29, 2016
Trump had donated about $5000 to Weiner’s campaigns.
This practice doesn’t seem to be helping Trump’s standing among women. An ABC/Washington Post poll released Sunday morning showed Trump trailing Clinton among women by nearly 20 points.