Donald Trump has had issues with his image with women since he announced his presidential campaign last summer, but the gender gap among his supporters has grown steadily in recent months, and now, 70 percent of women hold an unfavorable opinion of the front-runner, a new
Gallup Poll shows.
Of all respondents, regardless of party affiliation, more men also have an unfavorable view of Trump:
- Women: 70 percent unfavorable-23 percent favorable
- Men: 58 percent favorable-36 unfavorable
Although Trump's favorability rose slightly in the fall, the gap has been widening since January.
The poll of 3,600 adults nationwide reveals an ongoing concern that Trump could have difficulty netting the votes among women that he would need to seize a general election victory over likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, who is a strong candidate among female voters.
Trump has often pushed back against concerns on his ratings among women, pointing out that many of the key people in his business empire are women.
Campaign spokeswoman
Katrina Pierson Thursday night attempted to downplay talk that he is staging a "war on women." She told Fox News' Megyn Kelly — who has been a center part of Trump's image issues among women because of the candidate's ongoing feud with her — that the candidate's lack of political correctness doesn't mean that he is against women's issues.
But still, she acknowledged that even early on, Trump had unfavorable rates among women, and as people started voting, "the issues took over and of course, there is a negative perception out there. You now have Republicans joining in the war on women bandwagon against Mr. Trump."
The latest Gallup Poll was taken before controversies this week and last that could also affect Trump's numbers among women even more.
At the beginning of the week, his campaign spokesman, Corey Lewandowski, turned himself in on an arrest warrant issued on allegations that he'd grabbed former Breitbart News reporter Michelle Fields by the arm, causing bruises.
On Wednesday, Trump told MSNBC's Chris Matthews that he'd favor punishing women who have abortions should the procedure become illegal, although he quickly recast the statement and said that he meant that providers should be the ones to face punishment.
Trump's image with women also took a hit in the flap with rival Ted Cruz over their wives in March, adding to concerns about his disparaging comments about female news reporters and others.
Rival candidate
John Kasich has mentioned Trump's issues with women in speeches this week, commenting on Thursday that it depends "what my wife and daughters think" before he would decide if he could back Trump should he become the GOP nominee, reports CBS News.
Meanwhile, the Great America PAC, a pro-Trump super PAC, on Thursday
unveiled an ad that will start airing this weekend in Wisconsin and shows a mother in a kitchen with her children, explaining why a Trump presidency will keep her family safe, reports
NBC News.
Trump's poll numbers in the current Gallup survey show that the outspoken candidate is viewed far more favorably by male GOP voters than by women in the party:
- Men: 61 percent favorable-36 percent unfavorable
- Women: 49 favorable-46 percent unfavorable
Trump's overall favorable rating (percent favorable minus percent unfavorable) among both men and women also got worse, dropping to a negative 35 points, the poll shows, and while it is commonly believed that more men identify as Republicans while women lean Democratic, women's opinions of Trump's rivals, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich show differently.
Cruz's image is equally negative among both sexes, while Kasich's is equally positive, Gallup reports.
Trump is not the only one with negative ratings, as Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton also is viewed negatively by both men and women. However, she has a net favorable rating of 21 points with women, and a 17-point gap in the March poll.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, her challenger for the Democratic nomination, also has a higher favorability rate among women.
The monthly polls are based on the Gallup daily survey, with candidates rated each month by random samples of between 3,648 and 7,302 adults nationally and carry a margin of error of two percentage points.
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