Trump tells women 'I am your protector' at Pennsylvania rally
Former President Trump on Monday told women he would protect them if he is elected and attacked his opponent, Vice President Harris, as "very dumb" during a rally in the key battleground of Pennsylvania.
Trump at one point sought to directly address the women in the audience as polls have shown him trailing Harris with that demographic of voters. He read an extended version of a Truth Social post from over the weekend in which he said women would be happy and "no longer thinking about abortion" if he is elected.
"I make this statement to the great women of our country. Sadly, women are poorer than they were four years ago, are less healthy than they were four years ago, are less safe on the streets than they were four years ago, are paying much higher prices for groceries and everything else than they were four years ago," Trump said.
"I will fix all of that, and fast, and at long last this nation, and national nightmare, will end. It will end," Trump said. "Because I am your protector. I want to be your protector. As president, I have to be your protector. I hope you don't make too much of it. I hope the fake news doesn't go, 'Oh he wants to be their protector.' Well, I am. As president, I have to be your protector."
Trump has had trouble winning over female voters in each of his past two presidential campaigns, and polls have shown that he once again trails Harris, who has rapidly consolidated support among female voters since she replaced President Biden atop the Democratic ticket. Harris has made reproductive rights central to her campaign, blaming Trump for the end of Roe v. Wade and the restrictive abortion bans subsequently passed by states across the country.
A New York Times/Siena College poll conducted after a Sept. 10 debate between Harris and Trump found the vice president leading Trump among women, 53 percent to 42 percent. The poll showed Trump leading with 56 percent support to 39 percent among men.
Trump, during Monday's rally, lambasted Harris throughout the evening, attacking her intelligence even as Republicans have urged him to focus on policy and as his running mate has argued Democrats should turn down their rhetoric following another assassination attempt against Trump.
"She’s worse than him," Trump said, comparing Harris to President Biden. "I’m telling you, watch. She’s not as smart as him. He’s not smart, he never was smart…But she is a very dumb person. And we can’t do that. We can’t do that. I don’t want to be rude."
Trump claimed a Harris presidency would tank the economy and lead to cities overrun by crime and immigration. At one point, he referenced Springfield, Ohio, a town that has been at the center of attacks from Republicans over an influx in Haitian migrants, leading his supporters to chant, "send them back."
"Do you think Springfield will ever be the same? I don’t think so," Trump said. "The fact is, and I’ll say it now, you have to get them the hell out. You have to get them out. I’m sorry. Get them out. Can’t have it. They’ve destroyed it."
Many Haitians are in the U.S. under the protection of temporary protected status, which keeps people from being deported to nations in turmoil and allows them to work here. The Biden administration will allow an estimated 309,000 Haitians to remain in the U.S. through at least February 2026.
Trump rallied with supporters in Indiana, Pa., his first time in the commonwealth since the end of August. A Decision Desk HQ/The Hill average of polls shows Harris with a 1.2 percentage point lead over Trump in Pennsylvania.
The former president said Monday the outcome in Pennsylvania could determine the winner of November's election.
"Go out and make a plan to vote early, vote absentee or vote in person one Election Day, but you’ve gotta get out and vote.
"If we win Pennsylvania, we win the whole thing. It’s very simple," Trump said.