During his time in office, President Donald Trump has created a legacy of self-dealing and high-profile controversies. Especially relevant to this election is the impact his presidency has had on women.

“Nobody has more respect for women than I do,” was Trump’s farcical claim after the Access Hollywood tape was leaked in 2016 where he said he could just walk right up and “grab them by the p****.” 

Unfortunately for women, this vulgar misogyny was not an aberration or just “locker room talk,” this mentality of disrespect and disregard for women has been a trademark of the Trump White House. 

In addition to his refusal to provide adequate leadership in this global pandemic that is disproportionately affecting women, according to a published study, Trump has spent much of his presidency blocking women’s access to healthcare.

From cutting international funding for women’s rights to blocking laws that promote equal pay in the workplace, dismantling reproductive health services for women and the inability to appoint women to his administration, Trump and his administration have undoubtedly taken actions that negatively impact women, as the Independent shows.

Trump has campaigned on repealing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) – commonly known as “Obamacare” – without any details of a solution. According to a New York Times article, around 21 million people could lose their health insurance, and 12 million adults could lose Medicaid coverage following the ACA repeal. Eventually, this would result in an even bigger gap between the rich and poor in the country than that of now.

Women – especially women of color and single mothers – will be highly impacted by this repeal as they heavily rely on the ACA for health insurance. Approximately 19 million women in the U.S., over 19 percent of women, were uninsured pre-ACA. The numbers were even higher for women of color. 

These numbers have been a hot button topic in this year’s presidential campaign, on the campaign trail they’ve been ammunition for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

“If you have a pre-existing condition – heart disease, diabetes, breast cancer – they’re coming for you,” democratic vice president nominee Kamala Harris warned in the vice presidential debate.

Despite all this political rhetoric, it seems obvious that Trump’s anti-women policies have created barriers to full equality for women. Is there any real evidence to suggest another four years of Trump’s presidency will be better for women than his first term in the White House?  This is the concern for many voters and especially women voters.

While Trump’s reelection may threaten many women’s quality of life, his lack of support from these women could possibly end up costing him this election.

The women vote has always been important —  women cast their ballots at a higher rate than men do, as proven by the Pew Research Center. This election, however, with Trump’s controversial policies looming over the political landscape — the women’s vote is expected to be even more significant in determining the winner, according to the U.S. News article.

The U.S. News also suggests that the female voters this year are more involved in the political process and are throwing extensive support to the Democratic nominee Joe Biden.

“I got it wrong,” Joan Smeltzer, a Pennsylvanian who voted for Trump in the 2016 election, said in an interview with CNN News. “And it hurts my heart. I mean, it truly hurts my heart. I feel like I’ve been duped. I really do. I wanted to believe that he [Trump] was better than he is.”

Women in this country fighting to receive their basic rights are not “feminazis,” nor are they objects to be belittled. It is blatant inequality that this country doesn’t provide the same type of rights and support for women that it does for men. It is indecent and it is not democracy.

While it is true that neither candidate is perfect or can satisfy every American citizen, that voters are having to weigh the pros and cons of both candidates — those considering Trump must ask themselves if we would be able to “keep America great” when the supposedly “great America” excludes women.