Tag: Republican

Oh, Really? Tremendous?

The Claim

At a speech in Jacksonville, Florida on November 3rd, 2016, Donald Trump said “I think I have tremendous support from women.” According to politifact.com, Trump has made an incorrect claim in saying this. Throughout his campaign, we have seen Trump struggle to gain the support of women, so it is unlikely that he has done so in the last week. In order to determine the truth in his statement, we can look at the polls and see how the numbers add up. While numbers have been changing in the past week, the polls can help us determine whether or not women’s support for Trump is indeed tremendous.

trump-tremendousThe Polls Have It

As has been discussed in class numerous times, polls are rarely 100% accurate due to poor turnout, asking a biased population, and numerous other errors, but they are the best way to predict what the election turnout might be. A recent CBS Poll shows Clinton winning 50% of the female vote compared to Trump’s 36%, and an ABC News poll reports Clinton’s 52% to Trump’s 41%. Among a number of polls, the smallest gap between the two candidates in terms of female support is 8 points, showing that Trump’s claim seems to be false.

History of Women Supporting the Republican Party

According to political scientist Christina Wolbrecht, “The exact figure depends on your data source, but the reliable sources all put the percent of women voting for GOP nominees at the low to upper 40s since 2000.” Trump’s average is at 39 right now, putting him behind George W. Bush, John McCain, and Mitt Romney’s support from women in their respective elections. While he does carry Republican women with 72% support, is pales in comparison to the 92% who voted for Romney in 2012. Although anything can change on election day, it’s looking like women’s support for Trump will be anything but “tremendous.”

Is Apologizing Enough?

women-for-trumpComments About Women

After Donald Trump’s comments in footage from 2005 were released this week, women all over the country have seemingly reached their limit on what they can withstand from Mr. Trump in terms of his treatment of women. He claimed that his comments like: “You know I’m automatically attracted to beautiful- I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet,” “And when you’re a star they let you do it. You can do anything,” and “all I can see is the legs.” In response to the release of the footage, Trump claims that it was just “locker room banter,” making some women feel even more disgusted.

Beyond the Female Vote

In response the release of Trump’s 2005 comments, CNN reports that “Even Terry Gainer, a former US Senate sergeant at arms who rarely makes political comments, emailed CNN to say, ‘It is not just woman who should shun Trump. Any gentleman, every husband, each father of a daughter, bother of a sister and sons must be outraged.’ Now, instead of it being obvious just women to not vote for Trump, even Republicans are claiming that everyone, regardless of gender, should be ashamed to support Trump.

Apology Accepted?

apologyFor the first time in his campaign, Trump apologized for the things he said, saying “anyone who knows me knows these words don’t reflect who I am.” Responding in one of the ways presidential candidates might in a situation where they have made bad personal choices, he claims that his statements weren’t his true self and therefore should be excused. However, this “apology” isn’t what female voters- or anyone, frankly- are hoping for. Because of his failure to confront an emotional issue with an emotional, heartfelt apology, there are numerous Republican leaders (listed in this article) who have either said they will not vote for or removed endorsements for Trump- some have even asked that he step down as a presidential candidate. After the results of tonight’s debate, we will find out if America has truly accepted Trump’s “apology” or merely takes it as a desperate attempt to stay in the race.

Despite how the country continues to deal with Trump’s comments and response to them over the next week, the incident has without a doubt impacted his support from women, but likely many other voters’ support, as well.