Despite derogatory statements, Donald Trump can rely on many female supporters. Some believe that if he has “women under control,” he also has the nation under control, explains Americanist Birte Christ.
Berlin – When Birte Christ talks about the United States and the US election in November, she often clarifies her sentences with anglicisms. She then speaks of “double haters”, i.e. Democrats“the Donald Trump hate anyway, but don’t feel represented by Biden either.” Christ has traveled widely in America: she studied in Texas, attended the elite Yale University, and then spent a few years in Massachusetts and California. The American studies scholar now teaches at the University of Giessen.
At the time of the conversation with IPPEN.MEDIA Christ was in Switzerland to lead a working group on the US election at a summer academy run by the German Academic Scholarship Foundation. Young people who are studying law, physics or medicine “and are now broadening their horizons” were invited to this “summer school,” says Christ. “They want to understand why politics in the US is so polarized and why so many people are prepared to vote for Trump.”
Germans in particular are always amazed that the former US President and Republican candidate Trump can apparently afford anything without his supporters taking any offense at all. His Democratic opponent Kamala Harris recently said that she knew types like Trump from her time as a prosecutor: “I took on perpetrators of all kinds – predators who abused women,” she has seen criminals of all kinds – including sex offenders. “I know Donald Trump’s type.”
Ms. Christ, what is it about Donald Trump that so many women in the USA love?
It is mainly white women who support Trump. It has already been shown after the last two elections that they voted for the candidate Trump in similar proportions to white men. It would certainly be an exaggeration to say that all Trump voters are enthusiastic about him. But they are willing to put up with a lot in the interests of their own political interests.
Trump has often made derogatory comments about women and has legitimized sexualized violence – for example when he said that women of a certain status could be grabbed between the legs. Why is he not punished more severely for this?
Patriarchy is fundamentally supported by women, who benefit from this social model. There are always women who defend the traditional family, especially in the white middle class. When the recording of Trump saying “You can grab ’em by the pussy” appeared a few years ago, it didn’t hurt him. Male aggression of this kind is part of the traditional gender hierarchy. This dominance that a man exercises over women is read as a sign of strength. It is understood as proof that a man can protect his family – and in the case of the president, the nation – with violence if necessary.
Sexual abuse of power existed in Washington long before Trump
At the beginning of his US presidency, Trump was already accused of being a textbook narcissist. Is his grotesque self-aggrandizement and simultaneous denigration of women even interpreted positively?
He is even applauded for it. However, it was not only in Trump’s case that sexualized abuse of power led to politicians being seen as “masculine” in a positive sense: Bill Clinton, for example, emerged stronger in the polls after his affair with the intern Monica Lewinsky. Clinton was previously perceived as effeminate, but after his affair people said: He’s a real man. He has the women and thus the nation under control. This logic also applies to Trump.
What is the influence of the women’s movement in the United States?
Since you’re talking about women’s movements in the plural: Women on both sides of the political spectrum are loudly advocating for their interests. On the side of democratically oriented women, we see activism such as the Women’s March and the #MeToo movement; on the Republican side, we see organizations such as “Moms for Liberty,” which advocate for a traditional family order and want to turn back the clock of emancipation. The political landscape in the USA is extremely polarized, and this also applies to women’s interests. The trench warfare between women on the political right and left was already evident in the 1970s. Back then, the constitutional enshrinement of equality between men and women was prevented at the last minute by conservative anti-feminists because they believed the traditional family was at risk.
“Harris clearly calls Trump’s sexist aggression by its name”
It’s about preserving the old order?
It is more about restoring the status quo of the 1950s – an order in which many white middle-class women have settled. If more rights are demanded for women who do not come from this background, including women of color, these white women fear for their cherished privileges, wealth and influence.
Kamala Harris, who was just elected as the Democratic candidate, is a privileged woman of color. How should she react to Trump’s sexism?
She is dealing with it correctly and clearly calls his sexist aggression by its name. She also clearly describes Trump as a racist and a criminal.
Before the change to Harris, it became clear that US President Joe Biden has lost support among young female voters. Can Harris catch up in such a short time?
Many young, Democratic-leaning women were among the so-called double haters in the face of candidates Trump and Biden – those eligible to vote who saw themselves represented by Trump, but not by Biden. I believe that Harris can score points in these circles in particular – especially by emphasizing her fight for the right to abortion and rejecting Trump’s sexism. Unmarried women under 30 who are fundamentally Democratic-leaning could certainly be more likely to respond to this election message.
#women #overlook #Trumps #sexist #aggression