I have two daughters, my eldest and youngest children. I also have nine grandkids, all girls, along with a girl great-granddaughter. I often think about the world they grow up in and what I can do to help keep them safe.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche has an adult daughter and a baby granddaughter. He has generally kept his children out of the public eye, so I won’t name names here. Blanche has been in the public eye as a prosecutor and defense attorney for decades. Once, he was considered an honorable man, co-heading the violent crimes unit for the Southern District of New York. He later worked for prestigious law firms, WilmerHale, and Cadwalader & Taft before striking out on his own. Blanche could be proud of his work, holding his head high even when defending clients like Igor Fruman, Paul Manafort, and Donald Trump in multiple cases. Every client deserves a vigorous defense, such is the law. Blanche was able to look his daughter in the eye, and she could be proud of him.
House Speaker Mike Johnson reveled in his Christianity. As a lawyer, he specialized in constitutional law, with a focus on religious liberty and free speech issues. Johnson later worked for the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), joining the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, promoting evangelical positions on social and ethical issues. In 2015, Johnson was elected to the House of Representatives, believing God sent him to do good things. When he and his family had Sunday dinner, Johnson could look at his wife and four children, and he might acknowledge pride, if it weren’t a sin. His oldest two children were girls, both pursuing careers in law. Johnson could look his daughters in the eye and feel like he’d set a good example.
Donald Trump has a different set of family values than his Deputy Attorney General and House Speaker. Blanche and Johnson have only been married once each, 28 and 26 years respectively. Trump has been married three times and has been disloyal to each one. Their mothers mainly raised their two daughters after Trump divorced them: Ivanka in New York, and Tiffany in California. Whether single or married, Donald was a womanizer whose dalliances played out on the front pages of the tabloids. Ivanka was Trump’s constant defender, calling him “a tremendous champion of supporting families and enabling them to thrive.” Tiffany saw little of her father while growing up and had never publicly addressed his controversies. She did respond to rumors that her father avoided taking pictures with her because of her weight.
Trump has no problem facing his daughters. They have made their peace with who and what he is. One might think Trump’s links to Jeffrey Epstein and John Casablancas would give them pause, but how much more is that than everything the world knows? Trump has slept with the wives of good friends and porn stars, and his daughters are aware. Trump has mocked women for their looks, publicly calling them pigs. Ivana and Tiffany know of the dozens of allegations ranging from sexual harassment to the rape of a thirteen-year-old. They’ve heard his sexist comments and come to terms with them. His daughters have made their deal with the devil, orange skin and all.
I wonder how Todd Blanche’s daughter feels about his role in the Epstein matter. Did she listen to the audio of her father laughing and joking with Ghislaine Maxwell, seeking only to clear Trump’s name, thinking nothing of justice for Epstein’s victims? Blanche’s granddaughter is too young to start asking questions, but the day will come. My experience with granddaughters is that they have no filter. What good response could he have?
Will Johnson’s daughters have the nerve to inquire about his attempts to keep the Epstein files hidden? How does he juxtapose his actions against his Christian beliefs? What of the men he allows to go on raping young girls because he protected them? Wasn’t 20 extra years of exploiting women since Epstein’s first arrest enough? Assuming Johnson still prays, what does he say when he speaks to God? What does he say to his daughters?
Nobody wants to think of themselves as a bad father. Letting your child down is one of the worst feelings a father can have, although there are many exceptions that don’t care. I suspect Trump is such an exception, and his five children have become immune to disappointment. In my mind, protecting a predator crosses a line. Both men have promoted their faith and integrity. Isn’t there a point where you just have to say no to be able to look your wife and daughter(s) in the eye?
Maybe the girls long ago stopped asking about their jobs. But when Blanche’s daughter tries her hardest to keep her baby girl safe from harm, she must wish her powerful father were working to make girls safer rather than making their world more dangerous.
This post originally appeared on Medium and is edited and republished with author's permission. Read more of William Spivey's work on Medium. And if you dig his words, buy the man a coffee.