‘I will protect you’: Donald’s women woes show in poll

A big gender divide was shown in YouGov polling, with just 39 per cent of women saying they intended to vote for the Republican nominee.

Donald Trump seeks guidance in Savannah, Georgia. Picture: AFP

Donald Trump has a woman problem, and he knows it.

This extends far further from home than his eldest daughter, Ivanka, turning her back on his re-election campaign and his wife, Melania, having little to do with it either.

A big gender divide in electoral support was shown in YouGov polling for The Times this month, with just 39 per cent of women saying they intended to vote for Mr Trump, compared with 52 per cent of men.

When asked about Kamala Harris, 49 per cent of women said they planned to vote for her, against 42 per cent of men.

Kamala Harris lands in New York. Picture: AFP

Knowing the gender gap could cost him the election, the former president proclaimed himself the “protector” of women at a rally in the swing state of Pennsylvania and set out to explain why they should get behind him.

“I make this statement to the great women of our country,” he began. “Sadly, women are poorer than they were four years ago, are less healthy than they were four years ago, are less safe on the streets than they were four years ago, are paying much higher prices for groceries and everything else than they were four years ago,” he said.

“I will fix all of that, and fast, and at long last this nation, and national nightmare, will end. It will end, because I am your protector. I want to be your protector. As president, I have to be your protector. I hope you don’t make too much of it. I hope the fake news doesn’t go, ‘Oh he wants to be their protector.’ Well, I am. As president, I have to be your protector.”

Mr Trump often spells out in plain language what other politicians would regard as the subtext or goal of a speech. His remarks also epitomised his transactional appeal to voters, whom he asks to overlook his personal shortcomings, hold their nose if necessary and vote for him out of self-interest because life was better when he was in office.

Ivanka Trump has distanced herself from her father’s relection bid. Picture: AFP

However, he has numerous headwinds in his attempt to win round more women. Two recent court cases against Mr Trump reminded voters how he has treated women. The author E Jean Carroll successfully sued for damages for a historic sexual assault which was categorised as rape by a civil court judge, and Mr Trump lost a criminal hush-money case which involved paying off the porn star Stormy Daniels. During the 2016 campaign she was paid to bury her story of a sexual encounter in 2006, four months after Melania gave birth to Barron Trump.

There is an argument for voters to overlook such personal matters and judge Mr Trump as a political leader on his record. However, Ms Harris has a strong card here with women on the abortion issue after the three Supreme Court judges Mr Trump put in place to reverse the universal right to abortion delivered that by overturning Roe v Wade.

Ms Harris presents this as an attack on women’s rights and the thin end of the wedge given grassroots Republican efforts to block abortion medication, access to IVF and, potentially, the 2015 Supreme Court ruling that legalised same-sex marriage.

Public opinion is overwhelmingly on her side on abortion: Pew Research found that 63 per cent of Americans believe it should be legal in all or most cases. Ms Harris is keeping this story in the news, telling a radio interviewer in Wisconsin she is prepared to override the filibuster in the Senate, which requires 60 of the 100 votes instead of a simple majority, to reinstate national protections.

Donald Trump kisses Melania at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 18. Picture: AFP

Mr Trump, who insists he supports exceptions on abortion bans to save the life of a woman or in cases of rape and incest, told his Pennsylvania crowd that women “won’t be thinking about abortion” if he wins the election, effectively asking sceptical voters to trust him on the issue.

They don’t. Fifty nine per cent of women told YouGov they believe Ms Harris will handle the abortion issue well, compared with 42 per cent for Mr Trump.

His advisers want him to stick closely to issues where polling shows he has a lead over Ms Harris, namely the economy, immigration and crime. However, this lead is not borne out among female voters, according to the Times/YouGov poll, where the candidates are neck-and-neck. Half of women think Ms Harris would handle immigration well, the same proportion as for Mr Trump. On the economy, 54 per cent believe Mr Trump would handle it well as president and 56 per cent say the same for Ms Harris. On crime, 54 per cent of female voters say she would deal with this well while 53 per cent say the same of Mr Trump.

Ms Harris’s problem is convincing male voters – just 38 per cent say she would handle crime well, 39 per cent for immigration and 43 per cent for the economy.

Women’s propensity to vote, however, gives her an edge.

THE TIMES