Was this the worst messaging failure of the Clinton 2016 campaign?

[whywhywhy]

In retrospect, one of Hillary's biggest mistakes was how she handled the Access Hollywood tapes.Donald Trump, current president of the United States, has been accused of rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment, including non-consensual kissing or groping, by at least 25 women since the 1970s.

For years, Trump has denied these allegations, accusing his accusers of being liars who are just after his money and/or want to destroy his reputation. However, in October 2016, a tape often referred to as the "Access Hollywood Tape" leaked to the public where Trump bragged to Billy Bush about doing the EXACT things women have accused him of doing to them for years.

However, after the tapes were released, Trump came up with a brilliant lie. He said that the comments were just "locker room talk" and that he has never actually grabbed women by their private parts before (despite the fact that 25 women have accused him of doing this).

Instead of saying "those tapes were NOT just 'locker room talk.' You were caught on tape bragging about doing the EXACT things women have accused you of doing to them for years," Clinton's campaign did the worst thing possible: pander to extreme feminists. The campaign responded by saying "Locker room talk is BAD. Men should NEVER talk about women like that even in private. I don't care whether or not Trump has actually grabbed women by their private parts, men should NEVER even say words like that!"

As a result, MANY, MANY people I know, including many Democrats, are COMPLETELY unaware that Trump has actually been accused of sexual assault before. Many people believe that the comments were literally just "locker room talk" and that Trump has never actually done those things before.

Just to be clear: if the comments in the Access Hollywood tape were just "locker room talk," then there would be ABSOLUTELY NOTHING wrong with it. It would be a COMPLETE non-issue. There is NOTHING WRONG with some good ol' locker room talk. I've heard many men jokingly say things that are far worse in places like locker rooms. Who cares about words people say in private?

However, in Trump's case, it was ABSOLUTELY NOT just "locker room talk." Clinton's campaign let Trump get away with this disgusting lie for some reason. It was the worst mistake Clinton's campaign made

When Trump said that his comments were just locker room talk, Hillary should’ve responded with “No. You’re lying. Those comments were not just locker room talk. 25+ women have accused you of doing exactly what you bragged about doing on that tape,” not “LOCKER ROOM TALK IS BAD. MEN SHOULD NEVER BE ALLOWED TO SAY BAD WORDS IN PRIVATE.” Hillary bizarrely let Trump get away with blatant lying for some strange reason. Hillary’s response to the scandal was the stupidest thing anyone has ever done.

[Person Man]

In retrospect, one of Hillary's biggest mistakes was how she handled the Access Hollywood tapes.Donald Trump, current president of the United States, has been accused of rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment, including non-consensual kissing or groping, by at least 25 women since the 1970s.

For years, Trump has denied these allegations, accusing his accusers of being liars who are just after his money and/or want to destroy his reputation. However, in October 2016, a tape often referred to as the "Access Hollywood Tape" leaked to the public where Trump bragged to Billy Bush about doing the EXACT things women have accused him of doing to them for years.

However, after the tapes were released, Trump came up with a brilliant lie. He said that the comments were just "locker room talk" and that he has never actually grabbed women by their private parts before (despite the fact that 25 women have accused him of doing this).

Instead of saying "those tapes were NOT just 'locker room talk.' You were caught on tape bragging about doing the EXACT things women have accused you of doing to them for years," Clinton's campaign did the worst thing possible: pander to extreme feminists. The campaign responded by saying "Locker room talk is BAD. Men should NEVER talk about women like that even in private. I don't care whether or not Trump has actually grabbed women by their private parts, men should NEVER even say words like that!"

As a result, MANY, MANY people I know, including many Democrats, are COMPLETELY unaware that Trump has actually been accused of sexual assault before. Many people believe that the comments were literally just "locker room talk" and that Trump has never actually done those things before.

Just to be clear: if the comments in the Access Hollywood tape were just "locker room talk," then there would be ABSOLUTELY NOTHING wrong with it. It would be a COMPLETE non-issue. There is NOTHING WRONG with some good ol' locker room talk. I've heard many men jokingly say things that are far worse in places like locker rooms. Who cares about words people say in private?

However, in Trump's case, it was ABSOLUTELY NOT just "locker room talk." Clinton's campaign let Trump get away with this disgusting lie for some reason. It was the worst mistake Clinton's campaign made

When Trump said that his comments were just locker room talk, Hillary should’ve responded with “No. You’re lying. Those comments were not just locker room talk. 25+ women have accused you of doing exactly what you bragged about doing on that tape,” not “LOCKER ROOM TALK IS BAD. MEN SHOULD NEVER BE ALLOWED TO SAY BAD WORDS IN PRIVATE.” Hillary bizarrely let Trump get away with blatant lying for some strange reason. Hillary’s response to the scandal was the stupidest thing anyone has ever done.

Maybe people who were undecided didn’t see it as an issue.

[H. Ross Peron]

No, because there were worse messaging failures such as a focus on Trump's personality rather than issues.

[John Dule]

Clinton's campaign flubbed another angle of this scandal too. Trump defended himself by saying "All men talk like this." If Hillary had gone after that statement by saying that most men don't talk or act like that, and that Trump is a malignant anomaly, she'd have positioned herself as defending men against Trump's obvious, slanderous lies.

[Mr. Smith]

Clinton's campaign flubbed another angle of this scandal too. Trump defended himself by saying "All men talk like this." If Hillary had gone after that statement by saying that most men don't talk or act like that, and that Trump is a malignant anomaly, she'd have positioned herself as defending men against Trump's obvious, slanderous lies.

Or it could open up another can of worms and make her appear more moralizing.

Really, a "Patriots over Prostitutes" sort of approach would've been a much better angle.

[Ferguson97]

I don't think it mattered, most people who were offended by Trump's remarks were already voting for Clinton and most people who found what he said to be acceptable or didn't care were already voting for Trump.

[Statilius the Epicurean]

One of the more interesting claims by political data scientist David Shor is that the most-shared ad of 2016:

actually increased Trump's vote share among swing voters (high info liberals loved it). They already knew Trump said lots of mean stuff and wanted to know about Clinton's policies on jobs, immigration, trade. Attacks on Trump's character felt like guilt tripping - unless you vote for Clinton you're a bad person.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

America wasn't ready for a female Prez