Trump reprimands CNN reporter after questioning Epstein in tense exchange
President Donald Trump reprimanded a CNN reporter who asked about the Justice Department’s recent release of Jeffrey Epstein files.
At a press conference in the Oval Office this week, President Donald Trump accused CNN’s Caitlan Collins of “not laughing” when she asked him about the Justice Department’s investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“I’ve known you for 10 years,” Trump said from behind his resolution desk. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a smile on your face.”
This wasn’t the first time Trump has lashed out at Collins or other female journalists. Last year, he dismissed a Bloomberg News reporter who asked him a question about the Epstein file, saying, “Shut up! Shut up, pig.”
Women who have been told to smile throughout their careers took to social media to make the case.
“It’s never a good idea to make women smile more,” Caroline Dettman, chief marketing officer and head of growth business at World Business Chicago, wrote on LinkedIn. “Even if it’s unintentional, that statement is rude and misogynistic. I know this because throughout my career, I’ve been told by bosses, customers, partners, and colleagues to smile more.”
Is it sexist to ask women to smile?
Celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Victoria Beckham have often been grilled for not smiling in paparazzi photos. During the 2016 presidential campaign, Hillary Clinton was told to laugh more. Serena Williams was asked why she wasn’t smiling after defeating her sister Venus in a hard-fought quarter-final match. Actress Millie Bobby Brown was asked to smile by a photographer on the red carpet for the movie Stranger Things. “A smile? A smile,” she replied.
Is it sexist to ask women to smile?
According to the survey, 98% of women say they’ve been asked to smile at work at some point in their lives, and 15% say they’ve been asked to do so on a weekly basis, if not more often.
Research shows that the average woman smiles about 62 times a day, almost eight times more than the average man, but senior and executive-level executives were the most likely to be told to smile.
Many women think that smiling when necessary is the way to stand your ground, but not everyone agrees, and even not all women agree.
Vice President J.D. Vance, who was in the West Wing when Trump made the remark, told Megyn Kelly on Sirius
“I saw people online calling him a sexist for saying that,” Kelly said, noting that the late former Fox News chairman Roger Ailes often encouraged her to smile. “I literally said the same thing about Caitlan Collins on my show a year ago: She never laughs. You have to laugh once in a while.”
Workplace experts say the comments can appear well-intentioned, friendly and even harmless. However, many women don’t see it that way. They point out that smiling is rarely a job requirement for men.
“Women are expected to be friendly and friendly in order to meet gender expectations. That’s not only sexist, but also a hidden way of reinforcing the power imbalance for women in the workplace,” said Ruchika Malhotra, author of Uncompete and Inclusion on Purpose. “Men are not told to smile at work, and whether or not they smile has no impact on whether they are hired, promoted, or perceived in their leadership ability.”
This double standard forces women to conform to a narrow set of acceptable behaviors, which can negatively impact their careers, Malhotra said. Be tough, but not too tough. Be confident. But don’t be too confident. To be respected and liked at the same time.
“It’s a subtle reminder that the workplace wasn’t created for you, and that you have to change in order to exist,” said Lauren Howard, CEO of workplace safety advocacy firm L2 and host of the podcast “Different, Not Broken.”
Should women grin and bear it?
When someone asks you to smile at work, your first instinct may be to “smile and apologize for your previous facial condition,” Howard says. But she said that wasn’t necessary.
It’s okay to be frank, Howard says. “No one should police involuntary facial movements,” she said. “If someone tells you to smile at work, you have the right to politely decline and advise them that your face is appropriate for the workplace as is.”
Or you can use humor. “I joke that I would smile more if a male colleague came with me,” Malhotra said.
You can then confide in someone with power or influence, ask them to speak up if it happens again, or talk to the person who made the comment, she says.
