Senate Republicans are sounding the alarm after a tumultuous week for former President Trump, despite his robust poll numbers in battleground states against President Biden. Trump’s strong polling belies warning signs that have GOP lawmakers concerned, particularly his struggles with women voters.
The salacious details emerging from Trump’s Manhattan hush money trial, featuring porn actor Stormy Daniels’ testimony about her sexual encounter with Trump, have put his relationship with women voters back in the spotlight.
GOP senators are cringing at the graphic details being aired, which have underscored Trump’s challenges with women voters – a key demographic he needs to win over.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) noted that Nikki Haley’s strong showing in the Indiana primary, despite ending her campaign, signals a need for Trump to engage with disaffected GOP voters, especially women. Tillis warned that Republicans would be “crazy” to discount the problem and fail to address it.
Embarrassing Week for Trump Raises GOP Concerns About November
An AP VoteCast found a percentage of Republican voters in key states would be so dissatisfied with Trump as their party’s nominee that they wouldn’t vote for him in November.
Trump’s biggest problems are with college-educated and suburban women voters, who are turned off by his behavior and language. A New York Times/Siena College poll found only 31% of registered women voters think Trump respects women, and 78% have been offended by his words or actions.
Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) lamented that the high-profile rehashing of Trump’s alleged affair with Daniels would only further hurt him with women voters.
Lankford drew parallels with the Clinton impeachment saga, worrying that the salacious details will have a cultural impact and influence voters, especially younger generations.
While some Republicans downplay the impact of Daniels’ testimony, others concede it has breathed new life into the story. Sen. John Thune (S.D.) dismissed the concerns, but Sen. Thom Tillis believes the testimony has made the issue more real and damaging to Trump’s image.
The decision by Trump’s legal team to request more time to cross-examine Daniels suggests they saw her testimony as harmful, Tillis noted.
