ATLANTA (AP) — First lady Jill Biden warned Friday that her return Donald Trump in the White House would threaten women who have already seen the former president’s Supreme Court choose to waive the federal right to abortion services.
Trump has “spent his life tearing us down and devaluing our existence,” she said in Atlanta, where she launched a multi-state battlefield tour to highlight That of President Joe Biden re-election campaign awareness program for women.
“I have been very proud of the way Joe has put women at the heart of his agenda,” the first lady said of her husband. She compared him to Trump, who she said “makes fun of women’s bodies, disrespects our accomplishments and brags about an attack and, just this week, took credit for the “murder of Roe v. Wade.”
This was an unusually pointed takedown from Jill Biden. She is a long-time advocate for her husband, smiling and supportive, often telling endearing stories about their marriage and family, as well as her own career as an educator. Her remarks Friday signaled a more aggressive role in what is shaping up to be a bitter rematch of the 2020 election. Women are likely to play a crucial role, particularly in the small number of states that will determine the outcome of the college electoral.
“We are the first generation in half a century to give our daughters a country with fewer rights than we had,” she said, adding that women must organize in 2024 and “confront this moment as if our rights were in danger – because they are.” .”
In addition to her visit to Georgia, the first lady will highlight the “Women for Biden” campaign effort with weekend events in Arizona, Nevada and Wisconsin. The president won all four states in 2020, and each is expected to be hotly contested in November.
Separately Friday, Vice President Kamala Harris released a video affirming her role alongside the first lady as the president’s primary validator among women.
“We are fighting for basic freedoms,” Harris said, mentioning protection from gun violence and “a woman’s freedom to make decisions about her own body.”
Harris nodded as the first woman to serve as vice president and urged women “to mobilize your daughters, your sisters, your friends and neighbors” so “we can make history again.” .
At a women-owned event space in downtown Atlanta, Jill Biden listed the administration’s accomplishments and priorities, assuring a friendly audience that “Joe and Kamala” will push for a national entitlement law on abortion replacing state restrictions, while also protecting access to fertility treatment and childbirth. control.
The Trump campaign responded with a range of different issues and highlighted recent murder of a Georgian student as proof, the former president can serve women better than the outgoing president who beat him in 2020.
“The horrific murder of Laken Riley at the hands of an illegal immigrant is every woman’s worst nightmare, and Joe Biden’s policies have turned our nightmare into reality,” campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said. “Women want a president who will secure our country’s borders, expel violent criminals from our neighborhoods, and build an economy that helps hard-working families thrive. »
Jill Biden’s tour precedes Super Tuesday, a list of primaries and caucuses in 16 states and one U.S. territory that are expected to bring Biden and Trump closer to the delegate majorities required for their respective nominations.
The route includes the three closest states in 2020. Joe Biden won by less than a percentage point in Georgia, Arizona and Wisconsin, with a combined margin over Trump of about 43,000 votes in all three, a very slim amount despite Biden’s national popularity. 7 million vote advantage.
Biden won Nevada by 2.3 points. But Democrats have since lost the governor’s office there.
The four states have a total of 43 electoral votes, enough to flip the electoral college in Trump’s favor.
In 2020, an AP VoteCast survey of more than 110,000 general election voters shows that Biden won 55% of women and 46% of men nationally, a so-called 9-point gender gap. percentage. VoteCast showed that Trump narrowly beat Biden among white women, largely thanks to support from rural and small towns. But Biden dominated among suburban women, winning 59% to Trump’s 40% in a group that makes up about a quarter of the national electorate. Biden won overwhelmingly among black women, 93% to Trump’s 6%, according to VoteCast.
Several participants Friday said concerns about reproductive rights would boost support for Biden.
“This is absolutely the No. 1 issue for me and for the women around me, even for a lot of Republicans,” said Tina Coria, of suburban McDonough.
Tambrei Cash, candidate for the Georgia congressional seat held by Trump ally Marjorie Taylor Green, described the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade as a wake-up call for many women who took this right for granted. A recent decision by the Alabama Supreme Court regarding in vitro fertilization and frozen embryosshe added, is another reminder of the stakes.
“Women are crazy because they are demanding our basic rights,” Cash said. “It’s not just about abortion. They come for IVF, and they come for birth control.
Coria and Cash agreed that it was important to Biden, as an 81-year-old who once spoke openly about his personal opposition to abortion, that his wife and the vice president vouch for him.
“It’s essential, just essential, to have their voices,” Coria said.
Katrina Parks, a 54-year-old from Douglasville, another Atlanta suburb, focused on “everyday issues” beyond headlining debates on abortion and, more recently, immigration and border policy.
“The country is just in a general state of emergency,” Parks said, “but I view this as a concern that most people live with on a daily basis.”
She cited health care, literacy and educational opportunities, consumer goods and criminal justice reform. As for the president’s age and suitability for a second term, she said, “I don’t blame them on anyone’s age.” I believe in learning from experience, and that’s what he does.
