Whitmer suggests ‘double standard’ between Democrats and GOP on sexual harassment allegations

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) suggested Thursday there is a “double standard” between the way Democrats and Republicans handle sexual harassment allegations within their parties.

Whitmer made the comment during a Politico Live event on Thursday, after she was asked if there was a double standard regarding the sexual misconduct allegations against Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York.

“We just had a president who lasted all four years with numerous allegations against him, some so far as rape and no one on his side of the aisle was making observations about whether or not he should stay in office,” Whitmer said.

“And so, is there a different standard? One could conclude that, but weighing in on that, I don’t know gets either one of us very far,” she said.

“We just had a president who lasted all four years with numerous allegations against him,” Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said. “No one on his own side of the aisle was making observations about whether or not he should stay in office.” #TheFiftyGovernors https://t.co/X4AWALUqGM pic.twitter.com/MVcgyhNSXf

— POLITICO (@politico) March 11, 2021

Multiple women came forward to accuse former President Trump of sexual misconduct. Most recently, author and columnist E. Jean Carroll accused the former president in 2019 of raping her in the dressing room of a department store in the mid-1990s, which Trump has denied.

Cuomo is facing a mountain of bipartisan calls for his resignation after six women accused him of sexual harassment.

Most recently, The Times Union of Albany published an allegation from an unnamed aide accusing him of groping her, the most serious to date. That allegation has been referred to the Albany Police Department.

New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) tapped former U.S. Attorney Joon Kim and employment discrimination law specialist Anne Clark to lead her office’s separate investigation into the accusations.

Whitmer, who has survived sexual assault, has previously supported an investigation into the accusations. She told Politico that she wasn’t going to weigh in on what Cuomo’s fate should be until the investigation plays out.

“I’m not a New Yorker, I’m a Michigander, and looking at it from that perspective once that investigation happens, it’s going to be incumbent on the people of New York to decide what that accountability looks like, but I’ll have an opinion once I see the end of that investigation,” Whitmer said.