Former President and Republican nominee Donald Trump appeared at a women-only town hall hosted by Fox News host Harris Faulkner in Cumming, GA.
As one recent NBC News poll shows, Vice President and Democrat presidential nominee Kamala Harris holds a significant lead with women by a 14-point margin (55% to 41%). With the advantage squarely in Harris’ camp, Trump’s appearance was an attempt to bridge this gender gap.
Trump responded to questions from the women on the economy, crime, public safety, abortion and IVF, child care, illegal immigration, and protecting women and girls in sports.
A select group of audience members presented questions on the issues that mattered most to them. The economy was top-most in women’s minds. Faulkner asked for a show of hands from the audience, “How many of you actually feel good about how the economy is right now?”
The audience booed and no hands were raised.
Lisa, the first questioner asked:
“Democrats argue that your policies favor the wealthy, especially through tax cuts for billionaires, while the middle class continues to struggle these last 3.5 years under the Biden/Harris administration. Could you outline your plans to revitalize the economy again as president and policies that specifically support the middle class when reelected?”
While Trump pointed to his prior record as president in strengthening the economy, he led with his goal to make America wealthy again through energy independence.
“We have tremendous wealth in this country, but it’s under our feet. It’s called liquid gold. And we’re going to bring down your energy costs. And, with that, everything’s going to follow.”
IWF’s Director of the Center for Energy and Conservation Gabriella Hoffman has written extensively on how the Biden-Harris administration’s New Green Deal agenda and its push for net-zero policies has cost, and will continue to cost, the American people. In a recent policy paper, Hoffman writes that the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has only served to increase inflation by weighting the market toward “clean energy company beneficiaries: If policymakers craft laws and regulations that discourage energy abundance, consumers will pay the price with higher electricity rates—an estimated 19 percent increase by 2028.”
So, Trump’s response to this question was spot on, explaining that if America becomes energy independent, this will only help lower the cost of everything else. Good news for women who often see these negative effects firsthand in their everyday purchases.
Rachel, a single mother, presented a question about how Trump would address the diminishing child tax credit and the high cost of child care, particularly if you have a middle-class-level income. Vice President Kamala Harris was the tie-breaking vote for the American Rescue Plan, which expanded the child tax credit to $3,600 per young child and $3,000 per school-aged child. However, in order to benefit the poor, middle-class families ended up getting the short end of the stick. By making the tax credit fully refundable as well as making the payments through monthly checks to the households, families actually receive less—not more—fostering greater dependency.
Rachel’s question and story were heartbreaking.
“I’m a single mom to two kids here. And just in 3.5 years, my child tax credit has decreased by 80 percent almost. Day care, for the lowest amount, is roughly $1,400 a month for one child here.”
Rachel was very nervous and admitted she was panicked. Both Faulkner and Trump helped to allay her fears and she was able to finish her question.
“Last year, I had broken my neck, and I tried applying for any kind of assistance and was denied because I did not make less than $700 a month.
“So, I could not afford day care. I obviously was having to go through physical therapy and a lot of issues, and I’m still having issues to this day. But what kind of realistic changes do you think you can provide single parents, married parents, any kind of parent to just simply afford children in today’s world with the way things are?”
Trump acknowledged her situation and said, “It’s not fair, right? It is not fair,” and promised that he would reinstate his tax structure. Trump also reached back to his work with his daughter and then-White House advisor Ivanka Trump to expand the child tax credit.
“It’s going up higher, but we’re also going to readjust… It’s unfair to some people. And we’re not going to have that,” he said.
The other major issue discussed was biological boys and men being able to participate in girl’s and women’s sports.
Harris Faulkner asked, “How many of you are worried about biological men and boys competing against women and girls in sports? Just show me. That’s almost the entire—that is the entire room. And I know you have a question.”
Linda brought the question, expressing concern not for her daughters, but for her six female granddaughters.
“My question is, how do you plan on addressing the transgender issue in women’s sports? I have nine grandchildren, six of them female, all playing sports, and we are very concerned for their safety, not just on the field and the courts, but in their locker rooms as well.”
Trump’s answer was simple: You don’t let it happen. He referred to a video that went viral last week of a San Jose State University volleyball player (who was alleged to be transgender) spiking a ball and hitting a San Diego State University player, briefly knocking her down. Trump used this story to affirm that his administration would put a stop to this.
“We stop it. We stop it. We absolutely stop it. You can’t have it. It’s a man playing in the game.”
Faulkner asked how this would be done. Trump responded that you “just ban it. You—the president bans it. You just don’t let it happen. Not a big deal.”
This response received the loudest cheers in the room.
There were many other cogent questions and answers given on issues like crime, safety, and foreign policy. However, part of the discussion on the economy should have involved women and small businesses. Women make up 39% of small business owners, and the Biden-Harris administration’s attacks on independent professionals and small businesses through the Department of Labor’s final Independent Contractor Rule and the PRO Act is something that a former and possibly future president of the United States should address.
One hallmark of former President Trump’s 2024 race has been his willingness to go into what appear to be unfriendly spaces to address the issues and potentially change hearts and minds. After this town hall, November 6 will reveal whether he succeeded in moving more women toward his candidacy.