Trump's Women

Four categories.

Yesterday, I opened my inbox and a reader had reached out to ask about the White women who consistently vote for Republicans in general and for Trump specifically.

My posts since the election have been about resistance. I plan to continue in that vein. I do not plan to do any post-mortem on the election, but I do have thoughts about the majority of White women who voted for Trump.

“Why do you think so many white women voted for him? Have you talked to any women who voted for him? Did they tell you why?”

Women for Trump via AP

Yes. I have talked to many of these women. So many of my own family members voted for Trump. I have asked them about the reasons over and over again. Some of them have voted for him three times now.

I should tell you that I don’t come from any sort of money — no one in my family is wealthy. I was raised in a series of single-wide trailers and rental houses. We skimped on necessities to pay for other necessities. The bills walked in from the mailbox and went straight into a drawer because what’s the use of looking at a bill you can’t pay?

I understand poverty. I understand folks living in poverty.

Why would someone, especially a woman who has so much to lose, especially one who lives in poverty, vote for Trump?

Why would any woman vote for Trump?

I have a theory after being in contact with Trump-voting White women for nine years. I have divided them into four categories. This is not at all scientific, and there are likely more categories, but I can only give you the narratives of the White women I have talked to and know.

The Wealthy and Well-Connected.

I don’t need to say much about this cohort because they have reasons to vote for Trump. He has promised them tax cuts and they can afford to jet if things get out of control in the US. They are insulated from the worst policies, because let’s face it, wealth and connections create a wall of protection. These women can afford healthcare and private schools and tutors and armed guards if things go too far off the rails.

These White women are the easiest to understand. It’s the money and connections.

The Indoctrinated.

The true believers. I know so many White women who have been successfully indoctrinated by the church and they have no hesitance in following the direction and directives of their pastors. The women I know are Christian — Evangelical specifically.

Abortion is their single issue, but it is much deeper than that. They honestly believe abortion is murder. They have internalized the “pro-life” propaganda and believe that life begins at conception. They have been baptized into the pro-life movement through decades of sermons and propaganda. Their churches and pastors never let up.

These indoctrinated women believe that to be a woman in the eyes of their community, they must be a mother. Being a mother to many children is even better. Holier. Near martyrdom.

I don’t have to tell you how this impacts women who struggle with infertility, but I will tell you that the Southern Baptist Convention voted to oppose IVF treatment.

These women believe Republicans are doing God’s work by forcing women to give birth. They have been brainwashed to believe that while rape is a horror no one deserves, any resulting pregnancy is God’s will.

“Two wrongs don’t make a right.”

How can these women vote for such a vulgar man? Trump’s record of sexual abuse — rape — and licentiousness and nasty behavior are always explained away. As one woman told me, “I am not voting for the man. I am voting for the policies.” A King David of sorts.

When I pushed her on which Trump policies she was voting for, she stated she wanted a national ban on abortion and she didn’t think women should be in positions of power.

There it is. Women are meant to be submissive. Domestic. Silent. Indoctrinated.

The Pick-Me.

These may be the most frustrating of the White Trump-voting women. They think proximity to power equals power. That their white husbands or fathers or brothers or friends will save them. They also think they are exempt from bad policies and bad politicians. The reason? They are pretty enough. Thin enough. Young enough.

Untouchable.

The definition of a “pick-me” woman: One who seeks validation from men, often at the expense of others.

These women often think that if they look a certain way — thin, beautiful, and young — that all of the consequences of a Trump presidency won’t impact them. They truly think that their pregnancies will go off without a hitch. They think they will marry rich enough to not need two incomes. They think the dismantling of public schools is not their concern because they will homeschool. They think none of the Trump policies will touch them.

There is something they don’t know. They won’t always be young. They won’t always be beautiful. They won’t always be healthy. They won’t always have the validation of men.

The Ignorant.

Lacking knowledge or awareness.

The other three categories could fall into this category as well, but this is one I intimately understand though several family contacts. Some of these White women are often not only well-read on Trump and politics, they are over-read. The problem is they are often reading and disseminating propaganda.

There is a subset of White women who have become involved in politics since Trump because they like Trump. They like strongmen. They like his vitriol. His racism. His sexism. His treatment of “elites.” His disdain for civil discourse. His blanket hatred.

And then there are some who are just plain unaware of what another Trump term will do.

I know a White woman who voted for Trump three times. She has a child with a disability and she accepts WIC and SNAP and rental assistance. She voted against the programs that sustain her children. Why? Because she is “worried about immigration” while living in a community that is 96% white in a state over 1,000 miles from the border.

I watched an interview of one young White woman who said she voted for Trump because he “brought abortion back to the states.” She thought Trump was legalizing the procedure. Roe fell during Biden’s term, and she seemed to blame Biden for the ban. She is clearly lacking the facts. She didn’t understand the implication of the Trump SCOTUS picks.

Ignorance.

I didn’t write this essay to beat up other women. There are too many folks who can do that much better than I can. I also didn’t write it to excuse these women for their vote that has put every woman in the country in danger. Hell, at this point, they have likely endangered the women of the entire world.

White men voted for Trump in numbers that surpassed white women. Latinos and young Black men had a shift to the right. Black women overwhelmingly voted to save democracy.

I am angry at the White women who voted for Trump. I am angry at my inability to change the minds and hearts of former friends and current family members. I am sick. I am sorry.

As a cohort, we f*cked around and we are about to find out.

~Jess

P.S. I don’t use the word “pick-me” lightly because it can be quite toxic. Misogynists have occasionally co-opted the word to make light of women who enjoy activities and topics that can be male-dominated like history or fishing or hunting or carpentry. I was cognizant of that while writing.