After Donald Trump again dismissed sexual-misconduct allegations against Brett Kavanaugh as a “con job,” a reporter asked the president yesterday what kind of message that sends to women listening to his comments.
True to form, the president’s answer meandered in odd directions — it included a claim that “there was no collusion” between him and Russia in 2016 — before he eventually said women agree with him about the Kavanaugh controversy.
“I’ll tell you this: the people that have complained to me about it — the most about what’s happening — are women. Women are very angry.
“You know I got 52 percent with women. Everyone said this couldn’t happen — 52 percent. Women are so angry, and I, frankly, think that — I think they like what the Republicans are doing, but I think they would have like to have seen it go a lot faster.”
Right off the bat, it’s important to note that Trump did not receive 52% support among women voters in 2016. He’s made this claim many times since taking office, and in each instance, he’s been completely wrong.
The Republican received 52% of white women voters, but 42% of women overall. To hear Trump tell it, non-white women, in a rather literal sense, simply don’t count.
But even putting this aside, the president should probably be more careful when telling the public what women are thinking — or in this case, how “angry” they are — because there’s overwhelming evidence that suggests his perceptions are backwards.
Indeed, recent polling indicates that a clear majority of American women disapprove of Trump’s presidency, disagree with Republicans on most issues, are driving Democratic leads in the 2018 midterms, and as Rachel noted on the show the other day, are opposed to Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination.
Put simply, the available data shows an enormous gender gap, and the president and his party are on the wrong side of it.
“Women are so angry,” Trump said yesterday. If that’s true, perhaps he should take some time to learn what they’re angry about?
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."