Trump wants to narrow his deficit with women but he’s not changing how he talks about them

GASTONIA, N.C. (AP) — Donald Trump says he will beryllium nan “protector” of women, whether they for illustration it aliases not.

He’s campaigned pinch men who usage sexist and crude language. He’s expressed siren astatine nan thought that wives mightiness ballot otherwise from their husbands.

And nan erstwhile Republican president has suggested that Democrat Kamala Harris, who is trying to go nan first female to triumph nan White House, would get “overwhelmed” and “melt down” facing antheral authoritarian leaders he considers tough.

In nan last days of his campaign, Trump has stuck to a gendered worldview that his critics see dated and paternalistic, moreover arsenic he acknowledges that immoderate of that connection has gotten him “into truthful overmuch trouble” pinch a important group of voters.

Trump and immoderate of his astir salient friends have peddled outright sexism.

Former Fox News big Tucker Carlson, astatine an arena pinch nan Republican statesmanlike nominee, likened Trump to an angry begetter providing reliable emotion to a “bad small girl” who, arsenic Carlson put it, was “in request of a vigorous spanking.”

Charlie Kirk, laminitis of nan blimpish younker statement Turning Point, which is playing a cardinal domiciled successful nan campaign’s get-out-the-vote operation, has said that immoderate man who votes against Trump is “not a man.” Kirk besides has said wives who covertly ballot for Harris “undermine their husbands” — describing a man “who astir apt useful his tail disconnected to make judge that she tin spell and person a bully life and supply to nan family.”

On Saturday night, Trump laughed on pinch a crude joke astir Harris, astir a week aft a speaker astatine his Madison Square Garden rally suggested nan vice president was for illustration a prostitute controlled by “pimp handlers.” As Trump repeated his claim, made without evidence, that Harris lied astir moving astatine McDonalds successful her youth, personification successful nan crowd yelled, “She worked connected nan corner.”

Trump laughed, looked astir and pointed toward a conception of nan crowd.

“This spot is amazing,” he said to cheers. “Just remember, it’s different group saying it. It’s not me.”

Trump has faced a persistent gender spread since Harris entered nan title successful July. Women are acold much apt to opportunity they’re supporting Harris than Trump — by a double-digit separator successful immoderate surveys.

That could beryllium capable to beryllium decisive successful what some sides expect to beryllium an highly adjacent title that ends Tuesday.

Women mostly ballot astatine higher rates than men. In 2020, they made up 53% of nan electorate, according to AP VoteCast. Among nan astir 67.2 cardinal Americans who person already voted, astir 53% are women, versus 44% men, according to TargetSmart, a governmental information firm.

“This is not a clip for them to get overly masculine pinch this bromance point that they’ve sewage going,” said Nikki Haley, who competed pinch Trump for nan GOP information this year, successful a caller Fox News interview. “Women will vote. They attraction astir really they’re being talked to. And they attraction astir nan issues.”

Trump has not campaigned pinch Haley, who was U.N. ambassador during his administration, contempt her offers to look pinch him.

Trump has been aggressively courting men. Trump’s squad has spent months trying to scope younger men, successful particular, pinch a series of interviews connected celebrated male-centric podcasts and appearances astatine shot games and mixed martial arts fights. His run has been dominated by machismo, evident for illustration erstwhile erstwhile pro wrestler Hulk Hogan ripped disconnected his garment arsenic he took nan shape astatine nan Republican National Convention and later astatine nan Madison Square Garden rally.

The opus “It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World” often plays astatine Trump’s events.

Trump was ever expected to look challenges pinch women this twelvemonth aft nominating 3 of nan Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, ending nan constitutionally guaranteed correct to abortion and ushering successful a activity of restrictions crossed Republican-led states.

But his efforts to triumph women backmost person often landed flat.

Speaking Saturday successful Gastonia, North Carolina, astatine his first of astir a twelve rallies during nan race’s last weekend, Trump acknowledged nan blowback he has received for saying that, arsenic president, he would “protect” women. He continued, nonetheless, to repetition nan statement arsenic he insisted women emotion him and that he was right.

“I judge that women person to beryllium protected. Men person to be, children, everybody. But women person to beryllium protected wherever they’re astatine location successful suburbia,” he said. “When you’re location successful your location unsocial and you person this monster that sewage retired of situation and he’s got, you know, six charges of murdering six different people, I deliberation you’d alternatively person Trump.”

Trump’s run believes his attraction connected crime and forbidden migration will thief him triumph complete “security moms.” At his rallies, he has featured nan stories of mothers whose children were killed by group successful nan state who are successful nan United States illegally. That includes Alexis Nungaray, whose 12-year-old daughter, Jocelyn, was killed by 2 suspected Venezuelan pack members.

The run besides believes that Trump’s frequent denunciation of transgender rights holds sway.

In Salem, Virginia, connected Saturday, Trump brought to nan shape female athletes from Roanoke College, wherever a transgender female had asked and past withdrew her petition to subordinate nan women’s swimming team.

In a statement, Trump run spokesperson Karoline Leavitt defended Trump’s approach. “Women merit a President who will unafraid our nation’s borders, region convulsive criminals from our neighborhoods, and build an system that helps our families thrive – and that’s precisely what President Trump will do,” she said.

Several attendees astatine his rallies said they invited Trump’s committedness to beryllium a “protector.”

“I want protection. I mean, we each do, right? We don’t want to consciousness for illustration we’re not protected,” said Kim Saunders, 52, a small-business proprietor who lives successful Williamsburg, Virginia. “It’s that scary feeling. So for me, it makes maine consciousness really bully to person personification protect maine and a man protect me.”

She said she could not understand why women would support Harris, but thinks men are drawn to Trump because “he is that alpha male. And for me, I emotion nan alpha male. I grew up pinch a dada that was an alpha male.”

Harris, meanwhile, has seized connected Trump’s remarks, highlighting them successful speeches and online.

The vice president has tried to reside her ain broadside of nan gender gap, appearing connected podcasts and doing interviews peculiarly geared toward Black men, a traditionally Democratic constituency wherever Trump appears to beryllium making inroads. She was asked successful an question and reply pinch CNN connected Saturday whether she believes women will make nan quality successful this election.

“I judge each Americans are going to make nan difference. And I intend to beryllium a president for each Americans,” she said.

Trump has pushed backmost connected a proposal by apical Harris surrogate Mark Cuban that Trump does not situation himself pinch strong, intelligent women. Trump notes that he hired women to lead his 2016 and 2024 campaigns.

But arsenic he has tried to undercut Harris, who is nan first female to beryllium elected vice president, Trump has many times turned to gendered language.

“She surely can’t grip (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, President Xi of China. She will get overwhelmed, melt down and millions of group will die,” he said Saturday.

On Saturday night, he repeated his declare that he is nan “father of fertilization,” awkwardly and falsely taking in installments for a fertility process that was concisely outlawed successful Alabama by a authorities Supreme Court ruling owed to nan overturning of Roe.

And astatine caller rallies, Trump, who was found liable for intersexual abuse and has been accused by much than 2 twelve women of intersexual misconduct, has noted female supporters successful nan assemblage and mused astir really he cannot telephone them beautiful anymore.

“You person to beryllium very careful. Everything you say. You know, for illustration there’s immoderate women that are very beautiful successful nan audience. I would ne'er opportunity that,” Trump said. “If I said they were beautiful, that’s nan extremity of my governmental career.”

___ Cooper reported from Phoenix.