Political advertising fuels conservative anger over women who may be hiding their right to vote from their husbands
A political video reminded women that they can vote for Vice President Kamala Harris without telling their husbands, angering prominent conservatives and igniting fiery discourse highlighting the central role of gender in this year’s election.
The video, which began circulating last week, begins with a woman about to enter the voting booth after her husband and looks at him nervously before making her choice. She watches another woman as they fill out their ballot for Harris.
“In the only place in America where women still have the right to choose,” says actor Julia Roberts, referring to an ongoing partisan battle over reproductive rights, “you can vote any way you want, and no one will ever know. ‘
The women then leave the voting booth to meet their husbands, who are believed to have cast their votes for former President Donald Trump.
“Did you make the right choice?” asks one of the husbands.
“Yes, darling,” his wife replies with a smile, sharing a knowing look with the woman next to her.
While Harris hasn’t talked much about her potential to become the first female president, the video highlights the gender gap that has widened between her and Trump, with recent polls showing notable leads for Harris among women and Trump among men.
Harris’ opponents have used her gender during her campaign to question her qualifications. Trump said in July that world leaders would view Harris “as a toy” based on her appearance, and his allies have suggested that Harris’ political success is due to diversity, equality and inclusion policies.
Meanwhile, Trump’s campaign has embraced an image of traditional masculinity, actively courting influencers and comedians popular among young men.
Gender also underlies many of the hot-button issues motivating voters’ choices this election cycle, including abortion, in vitro fertilization, child care and transgender rights.
The campaign spot, created by Vote Common Good, a progressive nonprofit dedicated to mobilizing religious voters, sparked outrage from Trump and some of his allies.
Although the organization never paid to promote or broadcast the video, executive director Doug Pagitt said the attention it received online means it taps into an experience familiar to many households.
“So many people in that world that I come from, and the subsequent political world around it, believe that women’s responsibility in voting is primarily to not have their own voice,” said Pagitt, a pastor and social activist. “It’s to replicate what their husband tells them.”
In a phone interview with Fox News on Saturday, Trump said he was “so disappointed in Julia Roberts” and that she would one day look back at the ad and “cringe.” He added that he doesn’t believe the video depicts realistic marital dynamics, calling it “ridiculous.”
“I mean, can you imagine a woman not telling her husband who she’s voting for?” Trump said. “Even if you’ve had a terrible, bad relationship, you’re going to tell your husband.”
Fox News host Jesse Watters said on air last week that if his wife did the same thing as the women in the ad, it would violate “the sanctity of our marriage.”
“Finding out that Emma went to the voting booth and pulled the lever for Harris is like having an affair,” Watters said, a comment that prompted many online to call him out for his marital affair, which he admitted. to 2018.
Conservative podcast host Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, called the ad “sickening” as he criticized the woman for lying to “her sweet husband, who is probably doing his very best to make sure she can have a nice life and takes care of the family.”
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., joined the criticism Thursday, telling Fox News that Democrats are telling women to lie to their husbands: “What a totally amoral, corrupt, sick system have the Democrats developed?”
While some conservative men expressed disbelief and disapproval, many contributed to the discussion online by sharing their experiences with women who secretly support Democrats in Republican households, saying they fear for the well-being of women whose husbands insist. to monitor or control their votes.
In recent months, sticky notes have also discreetly appeared in public bathroom stalls and on tampon boxes across the country, reminding women that no one can tell if they are voting for Harris.
Several women involved in the grassroots campaign in more conservative areas told NBC News that participating in the sticky notes campaign was a way for them to be politically active without facing backlash from the Republican-dominated areas in which they live.
The controversy over the ad has prompted some online to draw parallels with Margaret Atwood’s classic novel “The Handmaid’s Tale,” which depicts a dystopian theocratic regime that forcibly categorizes women and strips them of personal autonomy. In the aftermath of the speech, Atwood shared a political cartoon of women entering a voting booth dressed in maid’s clothing and removing their red uniforms as they exited.
For Pagitt, the angry responses from some men online reinforce the need for the video’s message.
“They took the sanctity of someone’s ballot and turned it into a conversation about men owning the behavior of the women in their lives,” Pagitt said. “And I didn’t think you’d make our point for us. We are very grateful that you did that.”
