Trump vows to be a "protector" of women despite having been found liable for sexual assault

"You will be protected, and I will be your protector," Donald Trump assured women at a rally Monday, seeking to boost his appeal among female voters after boasting of his responsibility for overturning Roe v. Wade, being found liable for sexual abuse and convicted of covering up hush money paid to an adult film star after allegedly cheating on his wife.

The former president has not been polling well among women, in part due to his opposition to national abortion rights. A recent NBC News poll found that Vice President Kamala Harris leads Trump among female voters by 58% to 37%.

Speaking Monday in Pennsylvania, where Harris has a slight lead, the 78-year-old Republican promised women that he would protect them once elected, adding that they would feel so safe they wouldn’t “be thinking about abortion,” The New York Times reported. “I always thought women liked me,” Trump said at the stop in Indiana, Pa. “But the fake news keeps saying women don’t like me.”

The comments come after the former president posted lengthy remarks on Truth Social focusing on women voters, claiming he will “PROTECT WOMEN AT A LEVEL NEVER SEEN BEFORE.” 

In an exhaustive list of women’s perils, Trump’s post falsely claimed that in the last four years, women have become “poorer,” “less healthy,” “less safe,” “more depressed” and “less optimistic.” He promised he would: “FIX ALL OF THAT, AND FAST AND AT LONG LAST THIS NATIONAL NIGHTMARE WILL BE OVER.”