President Trump said that Harvey Weinstein’s guilty verdicts for third-degree rape and a first-degree criminal sex act send “a very strong message.”
“From the standpoint of women, it was a great thing … a great victory,” Trump said of the outcome Tuesday while on a state visit in India.
Weinstein was found guilty on 2 of 5 charges on Monday and remanded to prison until his March sentencing hearing. He faces up to 29 years in prison.
“I was never a fan of Harvey Weinstein, as you know,” Trump added. “In fact, he said he was going to work hard to defeat me in the election. How did that work out?”
“But I was just not a fan of his. I knew him a little bit, not very well, I knew him because he was in New York,” he said. “I will say the people that liked him were the Democrats. Michelle Obama loved him. Loved him. Hillary Clinton loved him.
“He gave tremendous money to the Democrats and I guess my question is will the Democrats be asking for that money back? Because he gave a lot of money to the Democrats and, you know, it’s too bad but that’s the way it worked out.”
According to Variety, Clinton, who is also abroad promoting the documentary “Hillary” at the Berlin Film Festival, said the verdict “really does speak for itself.”
In response to questions about Weinstein’s campaign contributions, Clinton said Tuesday she wasn’t the only beneficiary.
“He contributed to every Democrat’s campaign — he contributed to Barack Obama’s campaign, John Kerry’s campaign, Al Gore’s campaign, everyone’s campaign. I don’t know whether that should chill anyone else from contributing to political campaigns but it should certainly end the kind of behavior for which he was convicted for,” Clinton responded.
Trump himself has been accused by nearly two dozen women of sexual misconduct, ranging from sexual harassment to rape since the 1980s. He has denied all allegations.