This Week in Trump’s War on Women

The War on Women is in full force under the Trump administration. We refuse to go back, and we refuse to let the administration quietly dismantle the progress we’ve made. We are watching. 

This is the War on Women Report.


Since Our Last Report

+ Last week, CNN delved into the misogynistic intricacies beneath Trump’s recurring “nasty” woman trope. Trump often points to high level female White House officials to disprove claims of sexism and misogyny, but CNN’s Kara Alaimo observed that while employing women might suggest a less sexist White House, it does nothing to stymy the president’s misogynistic reputation. Trump’s misogyny, Alaimo explained, doesn’t concern hiring practices—it involves punishing women whose behavior displeases men. When the president disparages women as nasty or menstruating, or likens them to pigs and dogs, “this is exactly what Trump does, and he does it publicly.”

Tuesday, 6/11

+ On Tuesday, Politico revealed that claims of racism and sexism in the Treasury Department, which came to a head after Secretary Steve Mnuchin’s decision to delay the historic rebranding of the $20 bill by changing out Andrew Jackson’s image for Harriet Tubman’s until at least 2026, were spot on. Nancy Cook revealed that the department’s lack of diversity is much more than skin deep—with only three women and one person of color in Department’s 20-person senior staff and an overwhelmingly white, male boys club culture permeating the work place. “For women and people of color,” said one of Cook’s sources, a former Treasury official, “there is just a general feeling when you walk in and there are all white men that it is not a comfortable environment.”

Wednesday, 6/12

+ A coalition of religious leaders from various faiths marched on the White House Wednesday, demanding the Trump administration “repent their sins.” The “Moral Witness Wednesday” demonstration featured leaders across faiths coming together to denounce the administration’s attacks on the Affordable Care Act, “weaponization” of judicial appointments, pollution of natural resources, attempts to tamper with the U.S. census and abuse of families at the southern border—and called on Americans across party lines and religious communities to take action.

Thursday, 6/13

+ After a resounding victory against Thailand highlighted the pay gap between the men’s and women’s U.S. soccer teams, Trump brushed off media requests to discuss the issue. In his exact words: “We’ll talk about that later.” But haven’t women waited to talk about this long enough? The entire U.S. Women’s National Team filed a class-action lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation on International Women’s Day in March, just the latest in their long fight to earn the same wages as the men’s team, despite consistently out-performing them. The women’s team players currently earn 34 cents for every dollar the men’s team earns.