Former President Donald Trump once again pledged to protect women in an apparent appeal to female voters on Wednesday night but said he would take steps to do so “whether the women like it or not.”
Trump appeared energized on stage at a rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin, galvanized by criticism over President Joe Biden’s gaffe in which he seemed to call the former president’s supporters “garbage.” Trump unleashed his usual attacks against his rival in the presidential race, Vice President Kamala Harris, before delving into his plans should he be elected to another term next week.
“And my people told me about four weeks ago, I was saying, ‘No, I want to protect the people. I want to protect the women of our country. I want to protect the women.’
“‘Sir, please don’t say that.’
“They said, ‘We think it’s, it’s very inappropriate for you to say.’
“I pay these guys a lot of money. Can you believe it? Well, I’m going to do it whether the women like it or not. I’m going to protect them.”
He said those “protections” would include shielding women from migrants and foreign countries, leaning on fearmongering and lies about criminals he claims are crossing the Mexico border unchecked.
Trump has struggled to shore up support among female voters while the Harris campaign has emphasized his actions to erase the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that had established a national right to abortion. Recent polls show flagging support for Trump among women, although a majority of men in some surveys are firmly behind the former president.
Trump’s comments were quickly shared by Democratic strategists. James Singer, a rapid response director for the Harris campaign, asked if the idea would be a “defining line” for Trump’s bid. And a spokesperson for Harris’ campaign said Trump was “saying the quiet part out loud.”
The strategy has already prompted some Republicans to questions its use to Trump’s effort in an election that is essentially tied, according to recent polls. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who had challenged Trump in the GOP primaries, said this week that the campaign’s “overly masculine” vibe was not helping his bid, noting that women “care about how they are being talked to and they care about the issues.”
“This is not a time for them to get overly masculine with this bromance thing that they have got going,” she told Fox News host Bret Baier on Tuesday. “They need to remember that.”