International

Clinton would have had little support if she were not a woman, Trump says

Published

8 years ago

April 28, 2016

Trump makes U-turn over Clinton, Obama ISIS comments

Mouthy Republican front-runner Donald Trump has launched a verbal attack at Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton saying she was exploiting her gender to win votes as she would have little support if she were not a woman.

Trump’s comments now heralds what could turn out to be an unusually sleazy campaign much so as the pair will most likely square up for a potential battle for supremacy in the November 8^th U.S presidential election.

“The only thing she’s got going is the fact that she’s a woman,” Trump said Thursday on NBC’s “Today” show, refusing to back down from targeting Clinton for what he called “playing the woman’s card.”

Trump’s remarks, reaching into an area of gender attacks that is conventionally out of bounds, energized Democrats.

“Keep talking, Donald Trump,” Democratic Committee National Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz told CNN on Wednesday. “Every single day when Donald Trump opens his mouth, he does more to alienate women.”

U.S. Representative Renee Ellmers, a Republican, said she believed Trump could overcome his unpopularity with women voters with his straight talk: “To me, this is breaking all the rules, this is going against any of the typical history books and elections of the past.”

Trump’s top aide and other supporters said focusing on Clinton’s gender was part of Trump’s emerging strategy for the general election and that he had no intention of hewing to traditional rules.

“When he is attacked, he will respond,” Trump’s campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, told Reuters. “The campaign is going to proceed under the mantra, which we’ve had in this campaign from Day One, which is: Let Mr. Trump be Mr. Trump.”

A Reuters/Ipsos poll this month showed a big gender gap in opinions about Trump. About two-thirds of women had an unfavourable view of the billionaire businessman and reality TV star, while 54 percent of men had a negative view of him.

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now