Suburban housewives across America are mobilizing against Donald Trump after the president promised he would win their support in November.
Trump claimed in a tweet Wednesday that “suburban housewives” would vote for him because he ended a program that would allow low-income households to “invade their neighborhood.”
He accused his rival Joe Biden of re-installing that program in a ‘larger form’ with Democratic Senator Cory Booker.
‘The’ suburban housewife ‘will vote for me,’ the president explained.
The tweet drew rapid backlash from critics who saw it as a racist dog whistle, including some of the women he claimed would be happy about the program being shut down.
In the days that follow, several Facebook groups have been dealing with self-identifying prominent housewives who promise to ensure Trump does not see a second term.
Suburban housewives across America mobilize against Donald Trump after the president promised to win her support in November
Trump claimed in a tweet on Wednesday that “suburban housewives” would vote for him because he ended a program that would allow low-income homes to “invade their neighborhood.”
Following Trump’s tweet, several Facebook groups are dealing with self-identifying suburban sleeves, promising to make sure Trump does not see a second term
One group called Suburban Housewives Against Trump has garnered more than 8,100 members since it was created hours after the president’s controversial tweet.
‘Donald Trump used sexist language to describe us as’ suburban housewives,’ “the description reads. ‘He also said we would vote for him. He’s wrong. ‘
The group was created by Loni Yeary Gentry, a stay-at-home mom of three from Florence, Kentucky.
Yeary Gentry told the Daily Beast its goal to give Trump critics in their largely conservative community a space where they could talk freely about the upcoming election.
She said she was surprised to find that group members included several mothers from their children’s Catholic private school who they assumed would be Trump supporters.
“I think people can make assumptions,” Yeary Gentry said. ‘And I think that what the president has done unfortunately makes assumptions that all white women will support him. And we are not. ‘
Loni Yeary Gentry, a mother of three from Kentucky, created a Facebook group on Wednesday called “Suburban Housewives” against Trump, which now has more than 8,100 members
White middle-aged women claimed very much in the 2016 election, when Trump won 53 percent of the vote in that category.
But recent polls suggest that Trump’s support among suburban women is much lower than it was last time.
A recent NPR / PBS poll found that 66 percent of suburban women say they deviate from the job that Trump does in general – with 58 percent saying they strongly disapprove.
Other polls have suggested that Trump bids with up to 25 percentage points with female voters.
Mary Hayes, a mother of three from Virginia, founded a Facebook group called ‘The Real Suburban Housewives for Biden / Harris’
Eager to win the crucial suburbs this year, Trump has sent more than a dozen female surrogates to suburbs over the past year, with his ‘law and order’ position to convince families that he is the candidate to keep their communities safe.
However, this strategy appears to be reversing as suburban areas have become increasingly diverse.
That’s an argument made by Mary Hayes, a black mother-of-three from Virginia who set up a Facebook group called ‘The Real Suburban Housewives for Biden / Harris’.
Hayes said Trump has managed to alienate a large portion of suburban voters with racist remarks intended to appeal to housewives like her.
Trump acknowledged the growing diversity of suburban areas when asked what he meant by his “invasion” tweet at a press conference on Wednesday afternoon.
‘What I mean is [Biden and Harris are] will open up areas of your neighborhood that they already do and now they want to expand, ‘he said.
‘And they’ll expand it. They will, in my opinion, destroy suburbs. ‘
Trump referred to the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule, a policy created under President Barack Obama that was intended to prevent housing discrimination. Biden has promised to reintroduce the rule.
Responding to allegations that his tweet had racist undertones, Trump noted that 30 percent of the people in suburban areas are minorities.
‘And just so you understand, 30 percent plus of the people living in suburbs are minorities,’ he said. ‘African-American, Asian-American, Hispanic-American. They are minorities, 30 percent. ‘
Trump acknowledged growing diversity in suburban areas when asked what he meant by his ‘invasion’ tweet at a Wednesday afternoon press conference (pictured)
Hayes responded to Trump’s remarks by telling the Daily Beast: “He could have just said, ‘The white housewife will vote for me because I keep the low income [people], as the minorities, or you mean it, out of your neighborhood. “‘
“You can not get the vote of one and delete certain people in the same community,” Hayes added.
Some white women, the perceived target of Trump’s tweet, are also arguing over his use of the term ‘suburban housewife’.
“I think I’m a suburban housewife, but I do not feel that way at all,” Jaime Spataro, a Philadelphia suburban mother, told the Daily Beast.
Spataro founded her own Facebook group, ‘Suburban Housewives for Biden / Harris’, with more than 4,200 members.
‘When I hear the term’ suburban housewife ‘, I think of a woman in a dress with an onion in her fifties, vacuuming with a cocktail ready for her husband when he gets home at 5.30am,’ said Spataro. “That’s so old and outdated.”
The makers of anti-Trump groups are hoping they will provide an arena for all their peers to discuss political issues, instead of just sharing liberal messages with people who are already aiming to vote for Biden.
They say they’ve already seen a shift among women who previously voted for Trump – and that many more of their peers are on the fence.
Yeary Gentry even said her mother, who has not voted blue since Jimmy Carter, has decided not to vote for Trump again this year.
“She did not love him then, but she despises him now,” Yeary Gentry said. “And she’s going to vote for Biden this time.”
A Wall Street Journal / NBC News poll released Sunday found that 50 percent of U.S. voters intend to vote for Biden this November, compared to 41 percent who support Trump
Although several surveys have signaled that Biden has a strong lead among female voters, it is important to note that the same thing was said three months before the 2016 election as well.
An ABC News / Washington Post poll in August 2016 found that Clinton leads Trump among women by a margin of 23 points.
When it came down to it, however, Trump won more than half of the white female vote.
Many Republicans have indicated that this year’s elections will see another increase in ‘silent’ voters who have not been detected until November 3rd.
Tiffany Blythe, a stay-at-home mom in North Carolina who plans to vote red in November, told the New York Times this week that she knows many Trump supporters who are jealous to talk about who ‘ t they will vote.
For that reason, Blythe does not rely on the interviews that predict a big win for Biden.
“I’m not buying it,” Blythe said. There are a lot of silent voters, and more will come out for the elections. I think a lot of states turn red from blue, but you do not hear that in the media. ‘
Trump himself has made that argument several times, including on Saturday when he told reporters, “We have a silent majority that no one has seen.”
But the woman behind the latest ‘suburban housewife groups’ is sending a clear message: We are not in your silent majority.
.
