This year in the USA on the ballot is much more than presidential candidates, at stake are women’s rights.
There is only one candidate who trusts women and supports their autonomy and rights and it is not Donald Trump.
In what will be called a historic race no matter the result Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are offering two different visions of America.
The first highlights the upcoming change and focuses on the future with the “We are not going back” slogan while the other mentions the good old times with “Make America Great Again” being chanted everywhere.
These visions of the future can also be applied to the candidate’s views on women’s rights.
Trump and women
Donald Trump has made his stance on women’s position in society very clear throughout his career.
The ex-president is known for his sexist and misogynistic comments with probably the most known one being the Access Hollywood tape where, then the presidential candidate talked about how he could grab women and do anything because he was famous.
Such comments explain why Trump has been much less popular among women than men.
With the support of only 37% of female voters, Trump is 21 points behind Harris according to NBC’s poll as of September 23. That’s why he has dedicated the last weeks of the presidential race to appealing to the female electorate.
Abortion as a driving force
For women under 30 abortion is the most important issue in the upcoming election according to a survey by KFF with nearly 4 in 10 women in that group agreeing with that statement.
Since the overturn of Roe v. Wade in June 2022 abortion has been a motivating factor among Democratic voters.
Kamala Harris tried to utilise this momentum. She has been leading her campaign highlighting her support for women’s right to choose which aligns with her overall image as a female rights advocate.
Trump and abortion
As abortion is one of the key issues in this election Trump finds himself in an uncomfortable situation.
He needs to keep his anti-abortion rhetoric for his strong pro-life supporters while trying to appeal to undecided voters (especially women) who might not support extreme abortion restrictions.
While Trump brags about overturning Roe vs Wade he also mentions that he does not support a national abortion ban.
However, Trump’s rhetoric has been undermined by his past or present comments, by his running mate, JD Vance, who is known for his traditional views and has in the past endorsed the idea of the national abortion ban or by Project 2025, written by Trump’s close allies, which suggests restricting abortion access further.
Election and victory
Trump has been struggling to win over the female electorate which is not surprising knowing his controversies and opinions.
In an election where the votes of suburban women from Pennsylvania or Michigan can decide the result of the presidential election, Trump will do everything to appeal more moderate on the abortion issues but neither his nor his running mate's past statements on that issue can be forgotten.
There is only one president under whom women’s rights will be protected and it is not Donald Trump.
