A New York Times op-ed published Friday likened President Donald Trump's behavior described in former FBI Director James Comey's congressional testimony to sexual harassment.
The impetus for the piece was a series of tweets from theater critic Nicole Serratore saying that Comey's testimony alleging Trump pressured him to pledge his loyalty reminded her of a relationship with an abusive man.
On some level the view from inside Comey's head on all this Tr*mp stuff feels so weirdly like a date with terrible guy.
— c (@MildlyBitter) June 7, 2017
I mean, hear me out. It's like maybe Tr*mp is a pussy grabber and he does not like to take no for an answer.
— Nicole Serratore (@MildlyBitter) June 7, 2017
If you substitute sex for loyalty in all these exchanges it's like a guy who does not understand consent & won't stop until he gets his way.
— Nicole Serratore (@MildlyBitter) June 7, 2017
That led to an op-ed in the New York Times headlined, "James Comey and the Predator in Chief."
"As I listened to James B. Comey, the former FBI director, tell the Senate Intelligence Committee about his personal meetings and phone calls with President Trump, I was reminded of something: the experience of a woman being harassed by her powerful, predatory boss," Serratore wrote. "There was precisely that sinister air of coercion, of an employee helpless to avoid unsavory contact with an employer who is trying to grab what he wants."
"After reading Mr. Comey's earlier statement, I tweeted about this Wednesday night, and immediately heard from other women who had seen that narrative emerge. How recognizable it was that Mr. Comey was 'stunned' to find himself in these potentially compromising positions," she continued.
"Mr. Comey, you are not alone," Serratore concluded. "How many of us have played over and over in our minds an encounter that suddenly took a creepy, coercive turn? What did I say? Were my signals clear? Did I do something ambiguous? Did I say something compromising?"