Can Donald Trump capture the female vote? Former President Donald Trump has become the clear-cut favorite to win the 2024 GOP presidential nomination – which has the opposition probing for weaknesses in Trump’s appeal. Trump is a flawed candidate, to be sure, who has already lost a presidential election – but he’s still a capable candidate who should not be dismissed.
In assessing Trump’s viability for 2024, the opposition is convinced Trump is weak in courting the votes of suburban women. According to so many Democrats, Trump’s problems with women stem from the things Trump has said and done with respect to women. I’d like to think suburban women – which is actually a diverse voting bloc, not some monolith – will or will not vote for Trump because of his policies, rather than his uncouth rhetoric. But ultimately, I wouldn’t be able to say what motivates individual voters. Although, I do suspect that Democrats may be overhyping the significance of Trump’s behavior in the minds of voters.
Donald Trump and Women
“All of Trump’s vulnerabilities with the [women] were on high display during a rowdy town hall last week with CNN,” The Hill reported, “where at one point the former president called moderator Kaitlan Collins a ‘nasty person.’”
Trump also spoke during the CNN town hall about E. Jean Carroll, who had recently won a civil lawsuit against Trump for sexual assault and defamation – but lost with respect to her rape claim. Trump has repeatedly denied Carroll’s accusations, and during the town hall, Trump recounted his own version of what happened during that 1996 dressing room rendezvous.
“What kind of a woman meets somebody and brings them up and within minutes you’re playing hanky panky in a dressing room?” Trump asked.
Right, I’m not convinced that the sort of rhetoric described above is going to dissuade women voters. It kind of seems like wishful thinking on the Democrat side. Republicans, for their part, are pushing back on the idea, too.
“If you ask any woman their number one priority, it is to ensure their children are safe, healthy, and prosperous,” Karoline Leavitt, a spokeswoman for MAGA, Inc., said. “Joe Biden’s policies have made Americans less safe, addicted to Chinese fentanyl, and struggling to afford basic necessities, like groceries and has. That is why women, and the majority of Americans, will overwhelmingly reject Joe Biden in 2024 and vote for President Trump to make America great again.”
Democrats still underestimating Trump
Now, I don’t agree with Leavitt’s overall assessment, and I’m not positive what Biden did to get Americans addicted to Chinese fentanyl, but her pushback against the idea that women voters are squeamish about Trump may be valuable. It would be foolish for Democrats to write Trump off on account of his brash rhetoric; the Dems have done that before. Like in 2016, when Dems were convinced Hillary Clinton had the election in the bag – in large part because of Trump’s “grab them” scandal. Voters of course decided they didn’t care about what Trump had said or did in the past, as long as he was going to promote conservative policies.
I bring this up now because of outlets like The Hill making a big deal out of Trump calling Kaitlan Collins a “nasty person” are missing the point. The people who support Trump don’t care if he’s nice to Kaitlan Collins.
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Harrison Kass is the Senior Editor at 19FortyFive. An attorney, pilot, guitarist, and minor pro hockey player, Harrison joined the US Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a BA from Lake Forest College, a JD from the University of Oregon, and an MA from New York University. Harrison listens to Dokken.
