Harris Seizes On Trump’s Vow to Protect Women Whether They ‘Like It Or Not’

Vice President Kamala Harris seized on a remark from Donald Trump that he would “protect” women if elected, whether they “like it or not” to assail her Republican rival’s stance on reproductive rights and other freedoms in an appeal to suburban and independent women.

“It actually is, I think, very offensive to women in terms of not understanding their agency, their authority, their right and their ability to make decisions about their own lives, including their own bodies,” Harris told reporters on Thursday in Madison, Wisconsin, ahead of a western-state campaign swing. 

“This is just the latest in a series of reveals by the former president of how he thinks about women and their agency,” Harris added. “He does not prioritize the freedom of women and the intelligence of women to make decisions about their own lives and bodies.”

Trump at recent rallies has said he will protect women, highlighting his campaign promises to crack down on the border and crime as well as to neutralize the issue of abortion rights following backlash over restrictions on the procedure imposed by states.

The former president at a rally on Wednesday said advisers had cautioned him against using that line, before going on to say “Well, I’m going to do it whether the women like it or not. I am going to protect them.” 

Critics pounced on the remark from a candidate who has already been found liable for sexual abuse and defamation.

Harris said Trump’s remarks highlighted the stakes in the election for women, pointing to abortion bans in states and the former president’s desire to replace the Affordable Care Act.

With five days until Election Day, Harris and Trump are ramping up their messaging to draw in any undecided voters and mobilize their supporters to cast early ballots.

Here’s the latest from the campaign trail on Thursday: 

The race heads west on Thursday with Trump and Harris both campaigning in the crucial state of Nevada — a battleground where they are competing for blue-collar voter and Latinos.

Nevada and fellow swing state Arizona, where Harris will also hold a campaign stop, are the battlegrounds with the highest percentage of Latino voters, a traditionally Democratic cohort where Trump has made strong inroads, particularly among men.

Harris has campaign stops planned in Phoenix; Reno, Nevada and Las Vegas — and like her recent rallies, the events will feature A-list celebrities, including two prominent Latino artists. Singer Jennifer Lopez, whose parents were born in Puerto Rico, and Mexican rock band Maná are appearing at the Vegas rally. 

Trump’s outreach to Latino voters has been undercut by by the furor over comments at a rally from a comedian who denigrated Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage.” Harris’ efforts to capitalize, though, have hampered by remarks from President Joe Biden, which appeared to call Trump supporters “garbage.” Harris has sought to distance herself from the remarks, but her Republican rival has sought to reshape the narrative, including climbing aboard a garbage truck to assail Biden.

Trump’s first stop will be a rally in Albuquerque, New Mexico, however, a state that was last carried by a Republican presidential nominee in 2004 — highlighting how the former president has held campaign events outside of swing states in an effort to broaden his electoral base.

Trump will also rally in Henderson, Nevada, and then join former Fox News host Tucker Carlson for an event in Glendale, Arizona, along with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Senior officials from the Harris campaign touted early voting data they said show women voters turning out at a higher clip than men across battleground states and the vice president performing better with that demographic than Trump.

The campaign found women making up 55% of early voters in swing states, according to a senior campaign official who requested anonymity during a briefing call with reporters on Thursday.

The official also downplayed suggestions Trump is enjoying a huge surge in new voters to his campaign, arguing that early voting for the former president was being driven by Republican voters who normally cast ballots on Election Day, rather than an influx of fresh support.

Both candidates are continuing to court celebrity endorsements in the closing days of the campaign, in hopes of attracting voters who may not be closely paying attention to the race.

Harris will be joined at a rally on Friday in Milwaukee by rapper and songwriter Cardi B, who will deliver remarks encouraging early voting. Musical guests GloRilla, Flo Milli, MC Lyte, The Isley Brothers, and DJ Gemini Gilly will perform.

Trump’s campaign, meanwhile, was touting the endorsement of YouTube star and professional boxer Jake Paul, who boasts millions of subscribers on the video platform.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Thursday he had spoken with Trump to wish him luck ahead of election day, in a rare explicit endorsement from a foreign leader.

Trump has cultivated close ties with Orban, who has made waves in NATO and the European Union with his self-proclaimed illiberal tendencies and friendly relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

The former president welcomed the Hungarian leader to his home at Mar-a-Lago earlier this year, and has frequently cited their relationship when questioned about the implications of his isolationist foreign policy.

With assistance from Akayla Gardner.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.