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Trump Tells Fox He Broke The Glass Ceiling ‘On Behalf Of Women’

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a rally, Thursday, June 2, 2016, in San Jose, Calif. CREDIT: AP PHOTO/JAE C. HONG
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a rally, Thursday, June 2, 2016, in San Jose, Calif. CREDIT: AP PHOTO/JAE C. HONG

On Tuesday night, exactly eight years after she dropped out of the 2008 race and spoke about her inability to “shatter that hardest, highest glass ceiling,” Hillary Clinton is expected to give a historic victory speech, addressing her proximity to doing just that.

Donald Trump, meanwhile, insists he’s the one who made history.

“I was the one that really broke the glass ceiling on behalf of women more than anybody in the construction industry,” he said during a Fox News interview Monday night.

“My relationship, I think, is going to end up being very good with women,” he continued.

Trump frequently attempts to paint a positive picture of his relationship with women by focusing on how he has hired women to work in executive roles at his businesses. But that leaves out most of the story. The New York Times interviewed women who have worked alongside Trump over the decades and reported that Trump has engaged in “unsettling workplace conduct,” from unwelcome romantic advances, to unsolicited commentary on the female body. While the Times noted that some women found him encouraging as he promoted them to executive positions within his businesses, others were put off by his tendency to mock them along their rise to the top.

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“Even after he had behaved crudely toward them, some of the women sought his assistance with their careers or remained by his side,” the Times wrote.

Trump’s tumultuous relationship with women has also extended to his presidential campaign. Last August, Fox’s Megyn Kelly called him out on his sexist behavior and language, and then Trump went on to criticize Kelly repeatedly and publicly in interviews. He has also criticized former competitor Carly Fiorina’s face, made disparaging comments about Clinton and her personal life, and defended his campaign manager who was charged with battery by a female reporter.

The Boston Globe found recently that the Trump campaign has paid men on his campaign staff one-third more than women. “The women who work for Trump — who account for about 28 percent of his total staff — made an average of about $4,500 in April,” the Globe found. “The men made nearly $6,100, or about 35 percent more.”

Meet The Men And Women Behind Donald TrumpIt finally happened: Donald Trump, the blustery billionaire businessman, is the Republican Party’s presumed nominee for…thinkprogress.orgYet Trump has called out Clinton for focusing on gender throughout her campaign.

“If she didn’t play the woman’s card she would have no chance, I mean zero, of winning,” he said last month.

The AP reported Monday night that Clinton had crossed the pledged delegate threshold to become the presumptive nominee, and she is widely expected to cross that finish line with actual delegates on Tuesday after voters in six more states cast their ballots. Her speech in New York City will likely touch on both her historic accomplishment and other barriers that persist for women in the workplace — an issue she has elevated throughout her campaign.