From former President Donald Trump to Ohio Senate candidate Bernie Moreno, male Republican candidates are struggling to speak to female voters, using language criticized as tone deaf and patronizing as they try to win support from women and speak to issues important to them.
On Monday night, Trump cast himself as a “protector” of women, saying in battleground Pennsylvania that he will save them from fear and loneliness and they will no longer have to think about abortion.
“You will no longer be abandoned, lonely or scared. You will no longer be in danger. … You will no longer have anxiety from all of the problems our country has today,” Trump said. “You will be protected, and I will be your protector.”
At a town hall event on Friday, Moreno bemoaned the fact that abortion has become the deciding issue for many suburban women, calling the notion “a little crazy, by the way, but especially for women that are like past 50. I’m thinking to myself, ‘I don’t really think that’s an issue for you.’”
Former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley responded with exasperation to Moreno in a social media post. “Are you trying to lose the election?” she asked. “Asking for a friend. #Tonedeaf #DonLemonVibes.” The latter was a reference to former CNN anchor Don Lemon’s suggestion during the 2024 campaign that Haley, at 51, was “past her prime.”s