Tag: female vote

Attempts to Win Back the Female Vote


160819195354-kellyanne-conway-donald-trump-split-large-169Trump’s Campaign Manager to the Rescue

In August it became evident that something had changed in the Donald Trump campaign. Trump shocked people across the nation as he began to appear more presidential than ever before.  Trump himself has not changed, but rather his campaign manager. His new manager, Kellyanne Conway has a tough road ahead of her as she tries to help Trump “woo women” voters.

Conway Manages Trump’s Crises

Conway has not been successful in changing Trump’s attitude nor comments towards women, but she has worked to counteract them. The most recent crisis Conway has managed occurred six days after the first presidential debate, where Trump once again isolated possible women voters as he attacked former Miss Universe, Alicia Machado.  The campaign tried to counteract his comments with the release of a new ad, “Motherhood,” starring Ivanka Trump. To see the ad click here. The Washington Post describes this latest ad as, “the most overt appeal yet to women voters…”

Trump’s Latest Ad

This ad mainly targets female voters as it shows Ivanka taking on the task of being both a provider and a mother. She uses powerful language such as, “the most important job any woman can have is being a mother, and it shouldn’t mean taking a tax cut,” and “he will provide tax credits for child care, paid maternity leave, and dependent-care savings accounts,”
screen-shot-2016-10-04-at-10-21-10-am to appeal to the women voters. Whether you believe her comments or not, you can’t deny that the adorable children appeal to your emotions. According to Trent and Friedenberg political ads often serve a variety of functions, but I believe that this ads’ main objective is to redefine Trump’s image. This is supported by  both the timing of the ad and the rhetoric used within it. Ivanka successfully fulfills her role as a surrogate in this ad, however this one ad can’t undo every sexist comment or action Trump has made. But the creation of this ad is a good first step in appealing to women voters.

 

sources:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/09/30/ivanka-trump-stars-in-new-campaign-ad-to-help-her-father-appeal-to-women/

https://thinkprogress.org/kellyanne-conway-trump-c6b04fba7c12#.6qvsvfk4l

http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/09/meet_the_nj_native_whos_running_donald_trumps_camp.html

www.nytimes.com/2016/09/28/us/politics/alicia-machado-donald-trump.html

Should it be Mr. Piggy?

Donald Trump and Miss Universetrump-and-women

In Monday’s Presidential debate, Donald Trump was again called out for his treatment of former Miss Universe, Alicia Machado. He reportedly called her sexist names like “Miss Piggy,” “Miss Housekeeping,” and “Miss Eating Machine.” See this video to watch Alicia Machado’s perspective on his actions. Hillary Clinton brought up the controversial issue, playing on the fact that the college-educated female vote is a group on which Trump should be focused during this election.

The Female Vote in 2016

According to Brookings, “white college-educated women could be Trump’s Achilles heel.” He depends on them so much that “even a supersized turnout of working-class white men would not be nearly enough for Trump to win the election.” We have discussed in class lecture that throughout history, there has always been a targeted group of voters on which candidates rely. For 2016, this is both African Americans and college-educated women. After his performance in this week’s debate, it’s not looking like Trump is going to gain the support he needs from college-educated women. The media backlash of more women speaking on how Trump has treated them surely doesn’t help his case. Alicia Machado has even reported that she has not be paid by the Clinton Administration to speak against Trump, which adds even more validity to her experience.

Mr. Piggy

As evidence from his actions toward women who participate in pageants like Alicia Machado and his treatment of other women on numerous occasions, it’s obvious that Donald Trump isn’t trying to gain women as a part of his voter base. Rather than his name for Mrs. Machado, it’s looking like we should refer to him as Mr. Piggy. For a presidential candidate who needs the support of college-educated women trumpto win the election, Mr. Trump has failed to value the contributions of women in this country, including his experienced opponent Secretary Hillary Clinton. After repeatedly interrupting her throughout the entire debate, but especially while she discussed the issue here, Trump confirmed women’s beliefs that he does not value them as individuals worthy of respect and dignity.

 

-Kristen LaFevers