Kamala Harris blasted Donald Trump for his comment that he would be the “protector” of women “whether the women like it or not,” calling it “offensive” and part of a pattern of behavior with the former president.
“It’s deeply offensive to women when it comes to not understanding their agency, their authority, their right and their ability to make decisions about their own lives, including their own bodies,” Harris told reporters in Wisconsin, where she campaign.
“And this is just the latest in a series of revelations from the former president about how he thinks about women and their agency,” she added. She pointed specifically to abortion bans passed across the country after judges he appointed to the Supreme Court helped rule Roe vs. to knock down Wade.
Harris also said the comments were offensive to men.
“It’s offensive to everyone, by the way,” she said, adding that “our campaign is really about bringing people together, people from very different and diverse backgrounds.”
Kamala Harris said Donald Trump’s comment about protecting women ‘whether they like it or not’ is insulting to men and women
Trump said at a rally in Wisconsin on Wednesday evening that he would protect American women “whether the women like it or not.”
He has made the argument that he would protect women by making their communities safer and ensuring they won’t “think about abortion” as he faces mounting opposition in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the case who overturned the matter. abortion rights.
“I said, well, I’m going to do it whether the women like it or not. I’m going to protect them,” the former president said.
Democrats believe that Trump’s unpleasant comments about women, combined with his Supreme Court’s abortion ban, could turn out enough voters — especially women — to hand them the White House.
Polls show Trump has a significant deficit in female voters compared to Harris.
An analysis of Reuters/Ipsos polling from October shows Harris had a 12-point lead over Trump among women.
Moreover, Harris trailed Trump by just two points among white women — 46% to 44% — a much smaller margin than the 16-point lead Trump had over Joe Biden in the 2020 election.
Democrats have used reproductive rights as a rallying cry for their base, an issue they say will encourage women to vote for their candidate.
And Harris has used the issue to target moderate Republican and independent women, especially in the suburbs.
Many of those women supported Nikki Haley in the Republican presidential primaries and Harris believes she can win them over.
The Harris campaign has used former Rep. Liz Cheney, a prominent Republican critic of Trump, on the campaign trail to highlight his attitudes toward women.
“When you think about that level of instability, the level of erratic decision-making and the misogyny, that’s not someone you can trust with the power of the Oval Office,” Cheney said.
Harris has even enlisted celebrity help to remind women that their voices are private.
Julia Roberts touts Harris in a campaign ad featuring women secretly voting for Harris despite their husbands supporting Trump.
The actress reminds women that the voting booth is “the only place in America where women still have the right to choose, you can vote however you want and no one will ever know.”
“I said, well, I’m going to do it whether the women like it or not. I’m going to protect them,” Donald Trump said at a rally in Wisconsin
Julia Roberts is in a campaign ad for Kamala Harris, intended to appeal to women
Republicans have noticed – and are concerned.
“Early voices were disproportionately female. If men stay home, Kamala is president. It’s that simple,” Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point and a close Trump ally, wrote on X.
Trump has been accused of sexual assault by several women – which he has denied – including by blonde 6′ 1′ pageant queen Beatrice Keul.
“I think my buddy saved me,” Keul told DailyMail.com of the 1993 incident at the Plaza Hotel, which was owned by Trump at the time.
Her description of events closely matches allegations made by several other women over the years — including writer E. Jean Carroll, who was awarded more than $88 million in damages after Trump accused her of lying about an alleged assault at a Bergdorf Goodman.