Donald Trump is now officially the Republican candidate for President of the United States. Earlier this week at the Republican National Convention an event for female supporters of Trump was pictured with more empty than filled seats.
Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, has insisted that her father is a feminist but polls show that 77 percent of women view him unfavourably. One woman, who won the Miss Universe competition — a franchise owned by Trump — 20 years ago has embarked on a crusade against his candidacy,accusing him of being sexist and racist. A vast majority of younger voters also disapprove of Trump, with 76 percent viewing him unfavourably.
But, it seems, at least some women back Trump; in the U.S., it would be nearly impossible for a candidate to win a mainstream party nomination without at least a marginal level of support across generations and genders. We don’t often hear from young female supporters of Trump, so I set out to ask find what appears to be somewhat rare voters in the 2016 electorate — young women who support Trump — and ask them why they are voting for a candidate who has been so overtly criticized for his attitudes towards women.
In my search for such voters, I couldn’t find any women of colour who are sure that they will vote Trump and willing to talk to me about it. Of course, there are women of colour who will vote for him. A duo of African American sisters, Diamond and Silk, have a huge online following and vehemently support Trump to the extent that they take on those those who criticize him. Overall, though, Trump has a 93 percent unfavourability rating with non-white women. However, accusations that Trump is racist did not bother the women I spoke with one bit.
Kristin* is a 24-year-old who lives in Virginia, and a self-described libertarian. Despite her early enthusiasm for Rand Paul, she voted for Ted Cruz in the primary, and has enthusiastically embraced Trump’s candidacy. ‘I like his slogan, I think it’s genius,’ she told me. ‘He does make things great again! I’ve been to his country club.’
Kristin, who interned in a political office, said she follows the news pretty closely, and has been annoyed at the media’s portrayal of Trump’s campaign.
‘The media is trying to disrespect his voters,’ she said. ‘My mom had never voted in a primary, and she went out and voted for Donald Trump.’
Kristin is not bothered by Trump’s often inflammatory comments. ‘He says [things] in a blunt way, when other politicians have a roundabout way.’
‘I’m equally offended by the stuff the Democratic politicians say,” she added. “Bernie Sanders is talking about making college free for everybody… That’s offensive to me because I worked my ass off to get a scholarship.’
Kelly, a 23-year-old engineer from Texas, feels similarly about Trump’s perceived offensiveness. ‘He’s made some comments here and there that I can see people taking out of context,’ she said. ‘But overall I care more about the issues than if he misspeaks on some political language.’
But Kelly was used to Trump’s persona even before he ran for president. ‘I loved The Apprentice … so when he announced his presidency, I thought it was really strange, but from day one, I was on board with him.’
She is also a huge fan of Trump’s daughter Ivanka, which partially dispelled the few worries she had about his attitudes toward women. ‘She’s a very respectable woman and she has really done well in all aspects, so I take that into consideration when people say, “well, how does he treat women?”,’ Kelly said.
Amanda, 21, is an engineering student at a large east coast university, and very active in the campus’s College Republican’s group. Unlike many of her young conservative peers, she supported Trump from the start because his candidacy addressed a need she felt within the party. At the beginning, his candidacy ‘seemed pretty radical at the time,’ she said. ‘The Republican party has just been disintegrating from within itself gradually and we have really kind of needed an outsider.’
She compared Trump to Ronald Reagan, who has reached almost god-like status among some conservatives today, and hopes that he will be able to propel republicans ‘into a new, right-wing movement.’
Amanda is slightly worried that Trump’s boisterous personality might scare people away — both voters and, if elected, his cabinet and lawmakers he would need to work with. But she’s not concerned with particular criticisms that have been levied against him: like arguments that he is sexist or racist.
‘It honestly shows him to be a little more human, because people do think that way,’ she said. ‘He’s just like, “welp, this is who I am, I’m not apologizing”.’
Kristin isn’t particularly bothered by accusations of sexism or racism either.
‘I can’t say whether or not Donald Trump is racist or trying to be racist,’ she said. Plus, she added, she doesn’t think those sort of conversations are relevant in politics.
‘I don’t think it’s the government’s place to get involved in racism … It’s the culture you need to fix,' she said. ‘Maybe Donald Trump isn’t going to help the culture issue but one person can’t change that. If people want change they need to make it for themselves.’
When it comes to the possibility of a Trump presidency, the only thing Kristin seemed a little bit nervous about is foreign affairs.
‘He’s not a traitor, he wouldn’t do anything like Hillary did,’ she said in one of the few instances during our 45-minute long conversation where she even mentioned Trump’s likely opponent. Kristin’s foreign policy concerns boil down to his unique brand of diplomacy: ‘He knows how to work people … It could go really good or it could go really bad. I think his intentions are in the right place, but I’m excited and nervous about how people will receive him.’
Amanda thinks Trump’s brash persona is a plus when it comes to foreign policy: ‘our enemies are afraid that he’s going to be president, I think that’s a decent sign.’
For Kelly, who lives in Texas, Trump’s promise to take a strong stand on immigration is one of the big factors driving her support.
‘The number on thing [for me] is securing the borders,’ she said. And Trump ‘always says if you don't have a border you don’t have a country, and I really believe that… He’s the only candidate really pushing that.’
None of the young women I spoke to were voting for Trump based on social issues like abortion or gay marriage. They all seemed more keen on having someone with a new tone in Washington. When I asked what Trump policies they care about that don’t receive much media attention, I heard — somewhat unexpectedly — a lot about the possibility of tax reform, a topic rarely discussed outside of academia or wonky policy settings.
Amanda is hoping he might implement a flat tax across incomes, and Kristin said she think he will make the tax system better for everybody, ‘not just the poor, not just the rich.’
‘I look at my taxes and I’m like, “how do you expect me to pay off my student debt when you keep taking all my money?”,’ she said. ‘You want me to pay $300 a month for healthcare and $300 for taxes?’
As a young professional, and someone in “perfect health,” Kristin finds the high cost of health care to be particularly daunting, and hopes that Trump can also make it more affordable.
But along with her particular hopes about policies Trump might champion to directly better her life, Kristin seemed generally enthused about a Trump presidency.
'I really do believe he loves our country,' she said. 'I don’t think it’s a lie that he wants to make America great again.'
Can we draw a conclusion here? Why has Trump become so popular among women? He started out as a complete joke in the media- his candidacy wasn’t taken seriously – and despite the overt sexism he has showcased he has garnered support from women!
Despite near constant bafflement from the chattering classes that someone like Trump could even dream of becoming president, he has just defied all expectations and been crowned the Republican party nominee. Many — including Kelly, the engineer — think that the media’s constant coverage of Trump lead to his rise; news outlets showcased him in large part because he was an absurdity, but what he has said has echoed with American voters — even some young women.
It is logical to use simple categories — age, race, gender, sexuality, income, education level — to pigeonhole voters and a solid chunk of Trump’s supporters are still older, white, and male. But after speaking to college-educated women whom I closely resemble when it comes to demographics, I find myself thinking about his candidacy differently, if only because it is a true reminder of the many kinds of American voters.
Picture: @babesfortrump
*some names have been changed
Like this? You might also be interested in:
Meryl Streep Dresses Up As Donald Trump And the Result Is Sensational
Follow Nora on Twitter @biettetimmons
Nora lives in New York, formerly at The Atlantic she is currently Associate Editor at The Trace
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.