US election campaign: Trump to women: “Protect them – whether they like it or not”

Shortly before the US presidential election, Republican Donald Trump is trying to win over female voters – but a comment at a campaign event caused outrage. At an appearance in Green Bay, Wisconsin, Trump said his advisers told him not to say he wanted to protect women – it was “inappropriate.” Trump continued: “I want to protect the women of our country. Well, I’m going to do it, whether the women like it or not, I’m going to protect them.” Surveys show that the 78-year-old is doing significantly worse with women than with men in the race against Democrat Kamala Harris.

The comment in Wisconsin has an undertone, especially given the fact that there are various allegations against Trump of sexual assault. A New York jury found it proven in a civil case last year that Trump had attacked, sexually abused and later defamed the US author E. Jean Carroll in a New York luxury department store in 1996. During the 2016 presidential election campaign, a video of Trump’s vulgar comments about women (“Grab them by the pussy”) made headlines.

Harris: Statement is “insulting to everyone”

According to the New York Times, Trump’s campaign team reacted evasively to criticism of Trump’s statement in Wisconsin. “Women deserve a president who will secure our country’s borders, drive violent criminals from our neighborhoods and build an economy that helps our families thrive,” it said in a statement.

US Vice President Harris directly attacked Trump for his statement. “I think this is very offensive to women,” she said. The statement disrespected women’s agency, authority, right and ability to make decisions about their own lives, including their own bodies. The 60-year-old later added that Trump’s statement was “insulting to everyone.” Trump and his supporters repeatedly insulted Harris in sexist terms during the election campaign. When it comes to the vote next Tuesday (November 5th), it will be a neck-and-neck race between the two.

Haley fears Trump will lose votes

Criticism of the Republican’s rhetoric also comes from within his own ranks. Former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley has repeatedly criticized sexist statements during the election campaign in the past. Most recently, she expressed concern about Trump’s campaign rally in New York’s Madison Square Garden over the weekend. At the event with various speakers, racist and sexist insults were the order of the day. Haley said that “this masculinity stuff” makes women uncomfortable. A majority of the electorate is female. “Women will vote. They are interested in how they are spoken to (…),” said Trump’s former opponent in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.

Trump wasn’t the only one who attracted attention with sexism during the election campaign. His running mate, Senator JD Vance, also came under fire shortly after his nomination in the summer for his misogynistic statements about childless women. In a 2021 interview, the father of three described leading Democratic politicians as “childless cat women”. Vance later complained that he had been misunderstood. But it wasn’t his only statement in this direction.