This past Monday, republican presidential front-runner, Donald Trump, pulled “the woman card” on democratic presidential front-runner, Hillary Clinton. Earlier this week, Clinton made an appearance at a town hall event where she spoke and promised that if she were elected, half of her cabinet would be women.
Later that Monday, Trump stated, “I call her ‘Crooked Hillary’ because she’s crooked, and you know the only thing she’s got is the woman card,” he said.
Trumps comments regarding Clinton’s “Woman Card” in his speech Monday, May 9
Clinton was not afraid to respond to Trump’s comment and on stage Tuesday night, she stated, “The other day, Mr. Trump accused me of playing the, quote, ‘woman card,’” she said. “Well, if fighting for women’s health care and paid family leave and equal pay is playing the woman card, then deal me in.”
Trump had the last word when he said, “Frankly, if Hillary Clinton was a man, I don’t think she’d get five percent of the vote. The only thing she’s got going is the woman card,” he said. “And the beautiful thing is, women don’t like her. Look how well I did with women tonight.”
This has caused a lot of controversy of the past week. Many are frustrated with Trump and say that his inappropriate comments are another piece of evidence of all the subtle sexism women face in their everyday lives. Mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg said how this is just a preview of what is to come in the general election.
The gender card is now playing a bigger role than ever before in this year’s elections. When women hear Trump’s suggestion that Clinton is only successful because she is a woman, people all over will not be happy. Specifically, women who are paid less and have to fight for what they want will not be pleased and this has the potential to shift many votes.
This issue is very relevant in our country and even here in our own community. In our area, there are many Clinton supporters and there are Trump supporters as well. After explaining the situation to a Clinton-supporting Pascack Hills’ student, the girl, who wished to remain anonymous, said, “I believe that Trump is just playing the man card and is threatened that he is going against a woman more powerful than him.”
