On Monday morning, NBC’s Megyn Kelly did what the cultural and political second demanded: She ceded a lot of the highlight on her hour of the Right now present to a few ladies who say President Donald Trump as soon as demeaned, groped, or kissed them with out consent over the previous a long time. They’re amongst at the least a dozen ladies who’ve accused(opens in a brand new tab) Trump of sexual misconduct.

Kelly could also be an advanced girl, who’s each revered by some as a pseudo-feminist for her public confrontations with Trump(opens in a brand new tab) and Invoice O’Reilly(opens in a brand new tab) and loathed by critics who see her Fox Information legacy because the work of a “racial demagogue(opens in a brand new tab),” however her unique interview(opens in a brand new tab) with Trump’s accusers ought to be required viewing for anybody who believes it is too late to make Trump accountable for his habits — or would not imagine we should always reckon with it in any respect.

Whereas the ladies first went public greater than a yr in the past, the 30-minute interview offers every of them a recent alternative to share an in depth account. Jessica Leeds remembers being groped by Trump on a flight 30 years in the past. Samantha Holvey, a former magnificence pageant contestant, talks about how Trump appraised Miss USA contributors like “a chunk of meat” and invaded their dressing room to ogle them. Rachel Crooks shares how Trump kissed her with out consent whereas she labored at an organization positioned in Trump Tower. The ladies amplify one another’s experiences by constructing on totally different feelings: disgust, powerlessness, disgrace, and anger.

Kelly plainly asks the ladies what it was prefer to study that 52 % of white ladies voted for Trump. She needs to know the way it felt when Trump was sworn in as president.

“We’re personal residents and for us to place ourselves on the market, to attempt to present America who this man is, and particularly how he views ladies, for them to say, ‘Meh’ we don’t care,’ it damage,” mentioned Holvey. “And so, now it’s similar to, alright let’s strive spherical two, the surroundings is totally different, let’s strive once more.”

The dialog, occurring at what would possibly as effectively be your kitchen desk, makes the viewer confront the claims of harassment and assault anew. And it places front-and-center the truth that Trump and plenty of Republicans are content material to undermine these claims till they vanish from public view.

Halfway by means of the phase, Right now acquired an announcement from the White Home that Kelly learn on air: “These false claims, completely disputed usually by eyewitness accounts had been addressed at size throughout final yr’s marketing campaign, and the American folks voiced their judgment by delivering a decisive victory.” (The truth is, the claims haven’t been “completely disputed” by “eyewitness accounts.”)

It may need been simpler to promote that spin previous to the #MeToo motion, however morning tv exhibits and main papers can now not act as if the lingering questions over Trump’s previous habits aren’t a part of a well timed or related public debate.

The latest resignations of Democratic lawmakers John Conyers(opens in a brand new tab) and Al Franken(opens in a brand new tab) over claims of sexual misconduct have set new expectations for a way politicians ought to be held accountable. And Trump’s personal embrace of senatorial candidate Roy Moore of Alabama, who’s been accused of sexual misconduct with teenage ladies when he was a district legal professional, has created new scrutiny of the president’s tolerance for sexually predatory habits.

The interview is little question a savvy scores play — one thing that Kelly’s troubled present(opens in a brand new tab) might use proper about now. However it’s additionally a public service.

Kelly took Leeds, Holvey, and Crooks critically. Whereas she acknowledged that political motivation could possibly be at play in some allegations in opposition to officeholders, she gave every girl an opportunity to elucidate that their Democratic politics did not drive their resolution to step ahead. That will not go far with the conspiracy theorists watching at residence, however it could persuade a skeptical middle-aged girl who supported Trump that maybe it is time to maintain him accountable in methods she hadn’t thought of earlier than.

Kelly is not the sort of host who will inform her viewers find out how to suppose or really feel. She will not condemn the president outright. Liberals additionally will not like her quip about how there have been loads of causes to vote in opposition to Hillary Clinton. However except you’re employed within the White Home or bought on the #MAGA practice and are by no means wanting again, it’s going to be laborious for anybody who watches this half-hour interview to fake we are able to ignore Trump’s accusers any longer.

Kelly could by no means say these phrases aloud, however you get the sense that is precisely how she needs it.

When you’ve got skilled sexual assault, you may contact the free, confidential Nationwide Sexual Assault hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673), or entry 24-7 assist on-line by visiting hotline.rainn.org(opens in a brand new tab).