That’s the intriguing question asked by a New York University team. Their project, called Her Opponent, was to stage a debate using the words and gestures of the candidates, but portrayed by people of opposite sexes. They expected to see that Trump’s behavior would not have been tolerated in a woman. What they learned was the exact opposite. After a discussion with audience members, the director said, “We heard a lot of ‘now I understand how this happened’—meaning how Trump won the election.” The female version of Trump turned out to be very likable, while the male version of Clinton was described as “very punchable.”
Watch part of the rehearsal.