Trump’s 'bluntly sexist message' is 'bring women to heel': analysis

When Tucker Carlson spoke at a Donald Trump rally in Duluth, Georgia on Wednesday night, October 23, the former Fox News host equated a possible Trump victory to a "spanking."

Carlson told the MAGA crowd, "When Dad gets home, you know what he says? You've been a bad girl. You've been a bad little girl, and you're getting a vigorous spanking right now. And no, it's not going to hurt me more than it hurts you. No, it's not. I'm not going to lie. It's going to hurt you a lot more than it hurts me. And you earned this. You're getting a vigorous spanking because you've been a bad girl, and it has to be this way."

James Singer, a spokesman for Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign, described Carlson's comments as "f*****g weird." But the pro-Trump crowd in Georgia cheered enthusiastically.

READ MORE: Report reveals some MAGA fans 'ready to take on a civil war' if Trump loses

In a scathing article published on October 25, Salon's Amanda Marcotte cites the radically different reactions to Carlson's speech as a demonstration of the "gender gap" in the 2024 presidential election.

"Trump's love of sexual violence turns most voters off," Marcotte argues, "but as the rhetoric of sexual assault at the Georgia rally shows, the hardcore MAGA crowd loves this stuff…. This election will likely have a record-setting gender gap because Trump's bluntly sexist message is sucking in male voters while driving off women."

Marcotte continues, "From Carlson's spanking fantasies to Trump's misogynist insults of Vice President Kamala Harris to the use of 'It's A Man's Man's Man's World' as walk-on music for his stump speech to his running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, carping about 'childless cat ladies,' the message of the Trump campaign to men is not subtle: Vote for Trump, and he will bring women to heel."

The election "gender gap" that Marcotte describes is illustrated in a University of Massachusetts, Amherst poll released on October 22. The national poll found Harris with a small 2 percent lead over Trump overall, but among women voters, Harris had a 7 percent lead — whereas among men, Trump was ahead by 6 percent.

READ MORE: Denying the polls, Trump tells Las Vegas crowd 'we are leading by a lot'

Marcotte emphasizes that while the Trump campaign's "virulent misogyny" gives his male supporters a "cheap thrill," it won't make their "economic futures" any better.

"The worst part is that Trump, in all his deranged misery, is still better off than the foolish fans who use him as a role model," Marcotte laments. "He's got money and a bunch of people who kiss his ring because he's got power. All they get is a chance to pay Elon Musk $8 a month for the privilege to call feminists 'cat ladies' on Twitter. Not that they deserve any pity. Being a better man is free."

READ MORE: Obama offers Trump 'a good rule of thumb'

Amanda Marcotte's full Salon article is available at this link.