Democrats hope to win over female voters after misogynistic remarks from Republicans | US elections 2024

Republicans made a series of offensive and misogynistic comments just five days before the vote, boosting Democrats’ hopes of sending women into the race on Election Day in a race where women’s rights have been a central issue for Kamala Harris’ campaign.

With the election race seemingly marked by a wide gender divide – with women disproportionately voting for Kamala Harris and men voting for Donald Trump – both campaigns have sought to bolster their bases in their closing remarks.

On Thursday, the former US president attacked former Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney, daughter of George W. Bush’s Vice President Dick Cheney, as he discussed his claims that the US did not become embroiled in new foreign conflicts during his time in office because it had a Hawk said they should point a gun at her to “see how she feels.”

The violent images in this broadside against a prominent politician were just the latest in a series of dark comments from Republicans that the Harris campaign has seized on as evidence that a Trump victory would be a catastrophe for women’s freedoms.

Trump called Cheney “a very stupid person” and said, “Let her stand there with a gun and shoot her with nine barrels, okay?” Let’s see how she feels. You know, when the guns are pointed at their faces.”

Ian Sams, a senior adviser to Harris’ campaign, criticized Trump for “dangerous, violent rhetoric.” “You have Donald Trump talking about sending a prominent Republican to the firing squad. And you have Vice President Harris talking about sending one to her Cabinet,” Sams told MSNBC on Friday.

Meanwhile, Harris called a previous day’s promise from Trump to “protect” women “whether women like it or not” as “very offensive.”

The Democratic campaign also aired a new commercial starring Julia Roberts that shows a woman walking into a voting booth and apparently secretly voting for Harris. “In the only place in America where women still have the right to vote, you can vote however you want. And no one will ever know,” the ad says, as the woman gives another person a knowing look across the voting booth partitions.

When she shows up after voting for Harris, a man asks her if she made “the right choice.” “Of course, darling,” she says with a smile.

Fox News primetime host Jesse Watters responded to the ad, saying on television that if his wife voted for Harris, “it would be the same as an affair” and he would divorce her. “This, in my opinion, violates the sanctity of our marriage. What else is she hiding from me? What else did she lie about?”

The comment was followed by Charlie Kirk, whose right-wing organization Turning Point Action is playing a key role in Trump’s election effort, saying the man in the ad is “probably working out of his way to make sure (the woman) can.” Go and settle down beautiful life,” adding, “And she lies to him and says, ‘I’m going to vote for Trump,’ and then she votes for Kamala Harris as her little secret in the voting booth.”

And pro-Trump pastor Dale Partridge declared Tuesday that “in a Christian marriage, a woman should vote according to her husband’s instructions.”

The Trump campaign has tried to hit back by accusing Democratic-backing billionaire Mark Cuban of belittling female Trump supporters by saying Trump was too “intimidated” to surround himself with “strong, intelligent women.”

Kristi Noem, the Republican governor of South Dakota, challenged Cubans to a duel. “Play on, buddy. I’ll take you to a debate or maybe even arm wrestling any day.”

But a promise by Trump on Thursday that he would give Robert F. Kennedy Jr. a prominent role in his administration focused on “women’s health” drew further criticism.

Trump has tried to woo women with the dubious claim that they don’t have to worry about reproductive rights – Trump claims to have overturned federal abortion rights – if they have already been killed by an illegal migrant.

“I will protect them from the influx of migrants,” Trump said. “I will protect them from foreign countries that want to hit us with missiles and many other things.”

The Harris campaign, meanwhile, hopes his comments provide a useful political wedge coming from a man convicted of sexual abuse, with a judge calling the “rape” allegation against Trump “substantially true.”

Last week, model Stacey Williams made another sexual assault allegation against Trump. She revealed to the Guardian that Trump groped her in a “twisted game” with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

Trump’s first presidential campaign was compromised by leaked audio recordings in which Trump bragged about sexually assaulting women by grabbing their genitals. He was also found guilty of 34 counts after attempting to buy the silence of adult film star Stormy Daniels and thereby unlawfully interfere with the 2016 election.

“This is the same man who said women should be punished for their choices,” Harris said at an event in Phoenix on Thursday.

“He simply does not respect women’s freedom or women’s intelligence to know what is in their own best interest and make decisions accordingly. But We trust women.”