On Monday, the Los Angeles Timesdetailed the juxtaposition of President Donald Trump's 11th-hour attempts to sway women voters into his camp, with his ongoing condescension and insults towards any women who challenge or disagree with him.
"As the presidential race moves into its final week, polls show Trump is trailing Democrat Joe Biden by double digits with women voters," reported Chris Megerian and Eli Stokols. "But it hasn’t stopped the president from attacking, insulting and patronizing women he considers political enemies, or even just not supportive enough."
As examples, said the report, "He insulted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a regular target of his derision, as 'crazy as a bed bug' on Monday during nearly four hours of speeches during three rallies in Pennsylvania. He has demanded that Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, show more gratitude because 'my Justice Department' stopped an alleged domestic terrorism plot against her. He complains that he is treated unfairly by female journalists, accusing NBC’s Savannah Guthrie of 'going totally crazy' when she questioned him in a televised town hall. He walked out of a '60 Minutes' interview last week because he said CBS’s Lesley Stahl’s tone was 'no way to talk.' And in repeatedly disparaging Harris — even calling her a 'monster' — and intentionally mispronouncing her first name, he has suggested that her gender might be as disqualifying as her politics."
All of this comes as the election appears set to be decided by a historic gender gap.
"Four years ago, women preferred Hillary Clinton by a 12 point margin over Trump, according a Pew Research Center analysis of national exit polls. President Obama had a similar margin among women when he won the 2012 and 2008 elections," said the report. "Polls suggest Biden could swamp those margins. A survey conducted by NBC News and the Wall Street Journal this month showed the former vice president leading women by 60% to 34%, compared to his overall lead of 53% to 42%."