This interesting op-ed appeared in the New York Times today:
As I listened to James B. Comey, the former F.B.I. director, tell the Senate Intelligence Committee about his personal meetings and phone calls with President Trump, I was reminded of something: the experience of a woman being harassed by her powerful, predatory boss. There was precisely that sinister air of coercion, of an employee helpless to avoid unsavory contact with an employer who is trying to grab what he wants. . . .
How recognizable it was that Mr. Comey was stunned to find himself in these potentially compromising positions. His incredulity, mixed with President Trumps circling attempts to get his way, were poignant. For a woman who has spent a lifetime wrestling with situations where men have power they can abuse, this was disturbingly familiar. . . .
Mr. Comey, you are not alone. How many of us have played over and over in our minds an encounter that suddenly took a creepy, coercive turn? What did I say? Were my signals clear? Did I do something ambiguous? Did I say something compromising? . . .
To this series of bizarre interactions, in which he faced escalating pressure, Mr. Comey reacted with rising anxiety and distress. Time after time, Mr. Trump reverted to his questionable agenda, and Mr. Comey, at each pass, tried to parry the presidents unwanted advances.
This dynamic with the president became so disturbing to Mr. Comey that, after an Oval Office meeting in February, he implored the attorney general, Jeff Sessions, to prevent any future direct communication between the president and me. Mr. Comey did not want to be left alone with his boss again. Weve been there, Jim.
In their final exchange, on April 11, Mr. Trump told the F.B.I. director, I have been very loyal to you, very loyal; we had that thing you know. On May 9, having rebuffed the president, Mr. Comey was fired.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/08/opinion/james-comey-and-the-predator-in-chief.html?ref=opinion&_r=0
My husband read this, and then added a factor: Trump's (lying) statement that it was Comey who had "initiated" or "asked" for the dinner is just like the sexual predator who claims the encounter was "consensual" or that the victim "wanted it."