Washington (AFP) – Accused of sexual misconduct and affairs spanning decades, blamed for strict abortion curbs and criticized for sexism, Donald Trump has a women problem -- and Democrats are gambling that Kamala Harris can use it as a cudgel. Trump was accused of misogyny by his Democratic 2016 opponent Hillary Clinton -- the only woman ever nominated for a White House run by a major party -- and is facing similar attacks from a vice president looking increasingly likely to be the second. Broadening Trump's appeal to women is seen as key to the Republican's electoral success in November, after he won just 42 percent of the female vote on his way to defeat in 2020, against Joe Biden's 57 percent.
There was an coordinated push at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee last week to soften the 78-year-old billionaire's rougher edges, with former and current associates effusive in their praise. Several female family members also weighed in, with Kai Trump, his oldest grandchild, sharing stories of "a normal grandpa" who "gives us candy and soda when our parents aren't looking." The praise was at odds with his public persona as an adjudicated sexual predator who has bragged about groping women and has a reputation for being unfaithful, allegedly cheating on third wife Melania Trump with a Playboy model and a porn star.
'Fat pigs, dogs, slobs' Trump was found liable last year for a mid-1990s sex attack on writer E. Jean Carroll -- the judge called it "rape" -- and ordered to pay $88 million in damages for the assault itself and for defaming her. During his first primary campaign, he criticized the looks of his only female Republican rival and implied that the wife of another opponent-- Senator Ted Cruz of Texas -- was ugly.
Then the "Access Hollywood" footage of him boasting about being able to grab women by their genitals almost brought a swift end to his campaign. Years earlier he had boasted on Howard Stern's show about entering beauty pageant changing rooms with "incredible-looking women" in various states of undress. Voters were reminded of Trump's controversial statements during one of the primary debates in 2015, when moderator Megyn Kelly brought up his descriptions of women as "fat pigs, dogs, slobs and disgusting animals.
" He later criticized the questioning, saying Kelly had "blood coming out of her wherever." Clinton accused Trump of "stalking" her during their debate in October 2016, after a bizarre performance during which he often stood closely behind her glowering. After he won that election, more than 500 Women's March protests were held in America and scores of foreign cities.
Trump has denied more than a dozen sexual misconduct allegations, from groping and harassment to rape. The official Trump White House position in 2017 was that the women were all lying. 'Formidable female contender' He avoided jail in the Carroll case because it was a civil trial, but incarceration has not been ruled out in his September sentencing for falsifying business records to cover up an affair with adult film star Stormy Daniels.
Trump campaign press secretary Karoline Leavitt told AFP the media's portrayal of his treatment of women was "entirely false," pointing to his efforts to expand access to paid family leave and child care in his first term. Meanwhile, reproductive rights have become a hot-button 2024 election issue after Trump's appointment of three Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn federal abortion protections. Harris, as well as being a former prosecutor who used to put men away for fraud and rape, is a leading proponent of abortion access.
A coalition of 22 progressive and women's groups released a statement calling Harris "the leading voice in the Biden administration to restore abortion rights -- the issue galvanizing voters in red states and blue." Political strategist Sergio Jose Gutierrez says that while Harris might struggle with moderate and older women, the 2020 Democratic coalition of suburban women and working moms could help her across the line. "Trump's stronghold remains among small-town voters, seniors, and economic conservatives," said Gutierrez, the CEO of consultancy Espora.
"But he must adapt to the dynamics of running against a formidable female contender." WASHINGTON — The U.S.
Senate Committee on Ethics Monday notified Sen. Bob Menendez that its members unanimously voted for an “adjudicatory review of his alleged violations of Senate Rules,” in a move that could lead to the New Jersey Democrat’s possible expulsion from the upper chamber or a censure. Last week a jury found Menendez guilty on all counts in his federal corruption trial for taking bribes in the form of gold bars, cash, car and mortgage payments from three New Jersey businessmen to do favors for Egypt and Qatar and to meddle in two criminal investigations.
At the time he took the bribes, Menendez was chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The co-chairs of Senate Ethics, Chris Coons, Democrat of Delaware, and James Lankford, Republican of Oklahoma, said in a joint statement that they anticipate the committee “completing the adjudicatory review promptly.” “At the completion of the adjudicatory review, the Committee will move expeditiously to submit a written report to the Senate including specific findings and any recommendations for disciplinary action,” they wrote.
Menendez’s office did not respond to a request for comment from States Newsroom. Menendez has filed to run for his seat as an independent, even as many of his Democratic colleagues have pressured him to resign. U.
S. Rep. Andy Kim , a Democrat, is running for the Senate seat against Republican Curtis Bashaw.
Two-thirds of the Senate would need to vote to expel a member, but only a majority is needed to pass a censure resolution. A censure is a form of discipline in which the Senate formally disapproves of a member, but it does not lead to removal. Since 1789, the Senate has expelled 15 members, according to Senate archives.
The last time a senator was expelled was Jesse D. Bright of Indiana in 1862 for his support of the Confederate rebellion, though numerous more attempts at expulsion have occurred since then. Two more senators were expelled that year for their support of the Confederacy.
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CONTINUE READING Show less Republican National Committee co-chair Lara Trump said her father-in-law was willing to debate Vice President Kamala Harris "anytime, anywhere, anyplace" after the former president suggested he would back out of a planned showdown on ABC. After President Joe Biden announced that he would not be the Democratic presidential nominee on Sunday, Donald Trump called for a change to a more favorable debate venue. "Now that Joe has, not surprisingly, has quit the race, I think the Debate, with whomever the Radical Left Democrats choose, should be held on FoxNews, rather than very biased ABC," he wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform.
Lara Trump was asked about the statement during a Monday interview on Fox News. "I saw a post from former President Trump saying, you know, putting some question marks on the ABC September debate, which was supposed to be against Joe Biden again, and now I guess would be against Kamala Harris, also suggesting that maybe [Fox News] would do that debate," Fox News host Martha MacCallum explained. "Is that debate in flux? Is it a question mark now, Lara?" Lara Trump insisted that the former president was not backing out of the ABC debate.
Read also: Exclusive: Harris? Newsom? Whitmer? GOP delegates dish on who they want Trump to face "I think as far as Donald Trump has always said, anytime, anywhere, anyplace, he is willing to talk to the American people any opportunity he gets, and he's happy to go on a debate stage," she said. "Donald Trump is not scared of a debate with Kamala Harris." Watch the video below from Fox News or at this link .
CONTINUE READING Show less Donald Trump's vice presidential running mate, Sen. J.D.
Vance (R-OH), took to the stage in his home state, where he attacked Vice President Kamala Harris for the first time. "You know, what I see?" Vance asked the crowd. "Want to take bets here? Want to start a betting pool just in this auditorium? If you want to lead this country, you should feel grateful for it, a sense of gratitude.
I never hear that gratitude come through when I listen to Kamala Harris." Harris frequently speaks about her immigrant family , the success they found in the United States , and how they helped her get where she is today . MSNBC host Chris Jansing asked Ashley Etienne, Harris' former communications director, if attacks like this on Harris are a waste of her time.
Read Also: Trump vs. Harris will seem compressed. But it’s the norm elsewhere.
"Let me ask you about the attacks that are coming in against her ," Jansing began. "On X, before he took the stage there in Ohio, J.D.
Vance said that Kamala Harris owns [Joe] Biden policies, including what he calls the open border, green scam policies driving up the cost of housing and groceries, and 'She owns all of those failures. She lied for nearly four years about Biden's mental capacity, saddening the nation with a president who can't do the job. How thick is her skin? You know her well.
And will she even answer some of the criticism that some people might think is small?" Etienne explained, "If that's the best the senator can do, what he delivered at the podium, bring it on." She explained that "the vice president suffers no fool," and she, personally, is eager to " see this brawl go down ." Those kinds of criticisms, Etienne said, really only reinforce the beliefs of the far-right Republican base vote, which Trump has already secured.
Coming after Harris in a way that can persuade swing voters, ex-Nikki Haley voters and independents will take more nuance. She went on to say that Harris is polling well and has been able to raise nearly $100 million in the first 24 hours since the announcement. Another $90 million was "on hold" by the uber-rich Democratic donors holding cash hostage until Biden dropped out of the race.
See the full comments in the video below or at the link here . MSNBC hosts wonder if J.D.
Vance's 'small' insults of Kamala are 'too insignificant' www.youtube.com CONTINUE READING Show less.
