Kamala Harris says Trump's comment about women was 'insulting to everyone'

Kamala Harris said on Thursday (October 31, 2024) that Donald Trump's comment that he would protect women whether they “like it or not” shows that the Republican presidential nominee does not understand women's right to “make decisions about their own lives , including her own.” Body.”

Watch: US elections: Who are Trump and Harris appealing to?

“I think it's offensive to everyone, by the way,” Ms. Harris said before setting off to spend the day campaigning in the western battlegrounds of Arizona and Nevada.

At her rally in Phoenix, she expanded on these comments: “He just doesn't respect women's freedom or women's intelligence to know what's in their own best interest and make decisions accordingly.” But we trust women. “

Mr. Trump's comments come at a time when he is struggling to reach female voters and as Ms. Harris courts women in both parties with a message centered on freedom. She argues that women should have the freedom to make their own decisions about their bodies and that if Trump is elected, more restrictions will follow as both campaigns head toward Tuesday's presidential election.

At a rally Wednesday evening near Green Bay, Wisconsin, Mr. Trump told supporters that aides had asked him to stop using the term “protector” because it was “inappropriate.”

He then added a new bit to the line of protectors. He said he told his aides, “Well, I'm going to do it whether the women like it or not.” I will protect her.”

Those comments dominated much of Ms. Harris's Thursday as the two campaigns jostled for the remarks.

Actress and singer Jennifer Lopez introduced Ms. Harris at a rally in Las Vegas that also featured a performance by the pop band Maná. Ms. Lopez spoke in emotional remarks about her background as a Puerto Rican and emphasized the importance of women to the Democratic candidate, who had just arrived in Reno after a separate rally.

“I believe in the power of women,” Ms. Lopez said. “Women have the power to make a difference in this election.”

Ms. Lopez also hit back at comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, who called Puerto Rico “a floating island of trash” at Mr. Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden.

“You can’t even spell American without Rican,” she said. “This is our country too.”

Mr. Trump appointed three of the U.S. Supreme Court justices who formed the conservative majority that struck down federal abortion rights. As the fallout from the 2022 decision unfolds, he claims at public events and in social media posts that he will “protect women” and make sure they don't “think about abortion.”

Ms. Harris linked Mr. Trump's comments to his approach to reproductive rights, but Mr. Trump generally speaks more about protecting women from criminals, terrorists and foreign adversaries, consistent with the grim picture he paints of a country in decline.

“I will protect them from incoming migrants. I will protect them from foreign countries that want to hit us with missiles and many other things,” Trump said during the rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Before leading a rally in Henderson, Nevada, on Thursday evening, Mr. Trump responded to a top Harris campaign official's claim that the former president does not surround himself with strong, intelligent women.

Billionaire businessman Mark Cuban said Thursday as a guest on ABC's “The View” that “you never see” Trump “around strong, intelligent women – ever.”

Mr. Trump published on

“All strong women and women in general should be very angry at this weak man’s statement,” Mr. Trump’s post said.

The dispute showed signs that support for each candidate was further strengthening.

It wasn't just women who called Mr. Trump's comments offensive. At the Harris rally in Phoenix, Edison Kinlicheenie, 50, said he saw Mr. Trump as a threat rather than a protector, noting that the former president had a track record of exploiting women.

“I have a wife and a daughter so I wouldn’t allow a predator like that to get around me,” Mr Kinlicheenie said.

At a Trump rally in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Sarah Pyle, 41, cited opposition to the participation of transgender athletes in women's competitions to portray Mr. Trump as someone who helps women.

“I don’t want my girls to grow up in a world like this,” the Albuquerque mother said, referring to the controversy. “We have fought for women's rights for so long, and now we are giving them back to men. It makes no sense.”

Mr. Trump has given contradictory answers about his position on abortion. At some points he said women should be punished for having abortions and flaunted the judges he appointed. During his successful 2016 campaign, he told voters that if elected he would appoint Supreme Court justices to overturn Roe v. to overthrow Wade, saying he was “pro-life.”

But in recent weeks he has vowed to veto a nationwide abortion ban after repeatedly refusing to make such a promise. He said states should regulate care and said some laws were “too strict.”

Since 2022, the patchwork of state abortion laws has resulted in uneven medical care. Some women have died. Others bled to death in emergency room parking lots or contracted sepsis as doctors in states with strict abortion bans send pregnant women away until they are sick enough to warrant medical care. This includes women who never intended to terminate their pregnancy. Both infant and maternal mortality have increased.

Ms. Harris' campaign has highlighted Trump's statements about women. In one campaign ad, a woman seriously ill with sepsis following a pregnancy complication stands in front of a mirror and looks at a large scar on her stomach while the audiobook plays Mr. Trump's remarks about protecting women.

Ms. Harris hopes abortion will be a powerful motivator for women at the ballot box.

According to data from the analysis company TargetSmart, 1.2 million more women than men have voted in the seven battleground states.

That doesn't necessarily lead to democratic gains. However, in the 2020 presidential election, 55% of women supported the Democratic candidacy of Joe Biden and Ms. Harris, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 110,000 voters.