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…
+ In an Associated Press article, reporter Lisa Mascaro observes that President Trump’s fondness of exaggerated attacks his political opponents has encouraged other Republican representatives to bash their own adversaries—notably a cohort of women of color in the House known as the “Squad.” The freshman Representatives—Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley—have been targeted by Republican lawmakers in particularly noxious attack ads calling them “clowns” and “crazies.”
+ President Trump’s retaliatory tariffs on Chinese imports are predicted to disproportionately affect women and femme shoppers, especially poor consumers. While 26 percent of men’s clothing sold in America is made in China, 42 percent of women’s clothing is imported from the country, making the tariffs far more impactful for shoppers who buy traditionally feminine clothing.
Sunday, 9/8
+ Trump administration “peace talks” with the Taliban in Afghanistan collapsed over the weekend. Afghans themselves were largely relieved, especially since talks hadn’t included the actual Afghan government. Feminists in the region have continued calling as well for women’s inclusion in any talks moving forward. Trump’s conversations had violated the Women, Peace and Security Act, which he signed into law, by including only men in his own delegation.
+ After a late-night television binge, the President tweeted another attack on a prominent woman—this time, referring to model and activist Chrissy Teigen as “John Legend’s filthy-mouthed wife.” Teigen, of course, clapped back on Twitter.
Tuesday, 9/10
+ Census data released Tuesday in the bureau’s annual Income and Poverty report proved that Trump’s agenda has “taken a terrible toll” on women and families, in the words of MomsRising CEO Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner. In a primer for Ms., she broke down some of the key low-lights:
Trump’s relentless sabotage and all-out assaults on our health care left 1.9 million fewer Americans with health insurance coverage in 2018 than the year before. That translates into more families going without the care, medication and treatment they need…
We are greatly disappointed that we do not see significant progress in closing the gender- and race-based wage gap, which punishes so many women and families in this country and disproportionately impacts moms and women of color…
We are deeply concerned, as well, that at this time when job growth remains strong, we do not see the kinds of gains we need in ending child poverty. The new Census data show that nearly 12 million children in this country lived in poverty last year—a marginal decrease from 2017 but far, far from the kind of progress we need.
