Time reports that Alexander later changed his story, insisting that he had been asleep for most of the flight. But the woman, who has not been named, says he twice reached forward and touched her breast while sitting behind her.

It’s a disturbing story, but one that perfectly highlights how the rhetoric used by powerful people can encourage ordinary citizens to behave badly – and even abusively – in the ‘real world’.

We saw this in the UK when hate crimes spiked after the Brexit referendum, a period that saw certain politicians use divisive language and dog-whistle racism to drum up support for the Leave campaign. We’ve seen it in Italy, where a rise in racist attacks has been attributed to the new government’s anti-immigrant stance. And we’ve seen it in the US, where hate crimes, discrimination, bullying and harassment towards Muslims jumped 15% during Trump’s first year in office – a time when he frequently engaged in Islamophobic discourse and introduced policies targeted at Muslim countries.

And now, it seems that Trump’s misogyny is emboldening men who want to grope women. Given that this is a president who has been accused of sexual assault and harassment by over a dozen women, and who has openly mocked and dismissed credible allegations of sexual assault against his male political allies, is it any wonder that men in America believe they can do whatever they want to women without consequence?

Here’s hoping the feminist fightback against Trump is successful at the US midterm elections – and white women finally realise what they’re endorsing by supporting him.

Images: Getty Images, Pexels

This horrifying plane story highlights the toxic effects of Trump’s misogyny