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Woman to Woman: Female Trump Backers Try to Sell His Message

Associated Press

   DES MOINES, IOWA - President Donald Trump's campaign is rallying and
   training a corps of female defenders, mindful that Trump's shaky
   standing with women could sink his hopes of re-election next year.

   Female surrogates and supporters fanned out across important
   battlegrounds Thursday in a high-profile push to make the president's
   case on the economy and to train campaign volunteers. Organizers said
   they believe female backers are often uncomfortable acknowledging they
   support Trump.

   "We want to empower women with other women to be able to share the
   message of success of this president, to share their success under this
   president," said Trump campaign spokeswoman Erin Perrine, who will be
   leading one of the events in Raleigh, North Carolina.

   The move is a recognition of the president's persistent deficit with
   women. Over the course of his presidency and across public opinion
   polls, women have been consistently less supportive of Trump than men.
   Suburban women in particular rejected Republicans in the 2018 midterm
   by margins that set off alarms for the party and the president.

   The most recent Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs
   Research poll found just 30% of women approve of the way the president
   is doing his job, compared to 42% of men. Notably, there was no gap
   between Republican men and women -- 80% of both groups said they
   approved of his job performance in the August poll.

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