Whether they like it or not, US Presidential candidate Donald Trump has vowed to protect the women of America.
He made the comments at a rally in Wisconsin, in a move that’s likely to now spur even more women to get out and vote in Tuesday’s election.
He added that his advisers had told him not to use the line because it was “inappropriate”.
As some commentators have said, this notion of “whether they like it or not” is why 27 women have accused Trump of sexual misconduct and why Trump owes E. Jean Carroll more than US$90 million in compensation following the defamation case (and interest owed).
It’s a key contributing factor to why women’s reproductive rights and healthcare have become a key election issue.
These might be some of the reasons why Trump’s advisers suggested the former president refrain from commenting on protecting women against their will, but Trump decided to take his own approach.
“My people told me about four weeks ago, I would say ‘no, I want to protect the people. I want to protect the women of our country. I want to protect the women,'” Trump said, saying his advisers said it would be “very inappropriate for you to say.”
“I pay these guys a lot of money, can you believe it?”
“I said, ‘Well, I’m going to do it, whether the women like it or not, I’m going to protect them,'” Trump said.
He then asked the crowd of his own supporters if there were “any women in this giant stadium who would like not to be protected? Is there any woman in this stadium that wants to be protected by the president?”
Donald Trump thinks he should get to make decisions about what you do with your body.
Whether you like it or not. https://t.co/SdAFNcVrZc— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) October 31, 2024
The gender gap in support between Trump and his opponent, Kamala Harris, has been widening in recent weeks, with NBC News polls showing that women back Harris by a 14 per cent margin, while men support Trump by a 16 per cent margin.
Historically, more women than men to show up to vote on election day, which is another gender divide worth considering in the final days of the campaign.
Vice President Harris was quick to respond to Trump’s protector of women comment, describing it as “offensive to everybody”.
She said it’s “very offensive to women in terms of not understanding their agency, their authority, their right and their ability to make decisions about their own lives, including their own bodies.”
Harris said the comments demonstrate that Trump “thinks he should get to make decisions about what you do with your body.”