On Thursday, Kamala Harris reacted to Donald Trump’s statement about protecting women “whether the women like it or not.”
While getting prepared to start campaigning in the Western swing states of Arizona and Nevada, Harris responded back to Donald Trump saying that he doesn’t understand women’s “agency, their authority, their right and their ability to make decisions about their own lives, including their own bodies.” She added, “I think it’s offensive to everybody, by the way.”
During a rally on Wednesday evening close to Green Bay, Wisconsin, Trump informed his supporters that his advisors had recommended he avoid using the phrase because they deemed it “inappropriate.” He shared with the audience that he responded to his aides by saying: “I said, ‘Well, I’m going to do it whether the women like it or not. I am going to protect them.’” Harris said the comment another troubling statement made by Trump. “This is just the latest on a long series of reveals by the former president of how he thinks about women and their agency,” she said.
Trump and Republicans have had difficulty discussing abortion rights, especially as women across the country encounter increasing restrictions that extend beyond just ending an unwanted pregnancy.
Trump has provided mixed messages on the issue, stating that women should face consequences for having abortions while also boasting about his appointments of Supreme Court justices. During his successful 2016 campaign, he assured voters that, if elected, he would choose justices to overturn Roe v. Wade and identified himself as “pro-life.”
However, in recent weeks, he has pledged to veto a national abortion ban after previously avoiding such a commitment. He has also claimed that states should control abortion regulations and described some laws as “too harsh.”
