Michael Higgins: The rise of the TERFs secured Trump’s victory

Democrats, progressive lefties and feminists are stunned that a female presidential candidate has been rejected by women in favour of someone widely seen by them as a deplorable misogynist.

But why the shock? If women continually see their rights eroded by the very people that should be upholding and supporting them, then obviously they are going to rebel.

The election of Donald Trump is a backlash against a host of woke policies that have harmed women, set back the feminist cause, and damaged North American culture and society.

On Tuesday, millions of women held their noses and voted for a man they might find objectionable and detestable, but who they feel will uphold their rights.

According to Ms, a magazine devoted to feminist issues and founded by feminist icon Gloria Steinem, the majority of Americans have just elected a misogynistic, sexist and racist president.

“Voters chose a dark view of America that gave voice to white, male grievance over a vision of inclusivity that would have prioritized reproductive rights as well as healthcare, childcare and other issues of particular concern to women,” it said.

But hidden in the diatribe against the incoming president was a fleeting comment that is key to Trump’s victory.

“Women’s votes did not come in in big enough numbers for Harris to surmount Trump’s advantage among men,” said the magazine.

A CBC headline touted a similar story: The women’s wave fell short for Kamala Harris. What happened?

What happened is that a large number of women switched their vote from the Democrats to Trump. The wave didn’t just fall short, suggesting that women didn’t turn out to vote, it changed direction.

The question then is why did those women shun Kamala Harris knowing the reputation of Trump?

An NBC News exit poll found that in 2020, 57 per cent of women voted for Joe Biden against 42 per cent for Trump (a 15 point difference). This week, that had changed to 54 per cent for Harris and 44 per cent for Trump (a ten point difference).

A CNN poll had a narrower margin of only eight points between the two and noted that when Hillary Clinton lost in 2016 she had a 13 point lead over Trump when it came to women voting.

Harris may have won the support of the majority of women but there was clearly a “wave” of females who switched their vote, a surprise to Democrats and pundits.

On Monday, in his final rally, Tim Walz, Harris’s running mate, declared that women would be sending Trump a big message on election day.

“Folks, this is getting pretty simple now: Kamala and I trust women,” he said in Detroit. “Now tomorrow, women all across America, of every age, both parties, are going to send a loud, clear message to Donald Trump.”

But it turned out that the message was to Democrats.

Why the big switch?

Maybe it was the economy. Women are not immune to the high cost of living that is affecting the United States just as it is in Canada. However, the economy is improving so why desert a “progressive” party where women usually feel at home in favour of someone who, according to Ms., is so detestable?

The answer may be that it is a backlash against woke policies that have consistently seen women’s rights sidelined. Women are rightly angry at seeing biological men compete against females and seeing biological men in changing rooms, safe spaces and even prisons.

If there is a war on women it is being waged by the progressive left who are prepared to sacrifice the rights of women on the sacred altar of wokeism.

The Republicans rightly exploited this.

One of Trump’s most high-profile attack ads against Harris ended with the words: “Kamala’s agenda is they/them, not you.”

It was simple, but effective, highlighting the culture wars and clearly delineating where the parties stood.

Women’s suffrage around the world has been long, arduous and often deadly. It is only 100 years since women were given the right to vote in America and Canada.

And yet in just a few short years many of the rights and protections women thought they could take for granted have been stripped away. It is women who have to bear the brunt of progressive woke policies.

There are several lessons Justin Trudeau could learn from the American election. But perhaps the biggest is that calling yourself a feminist doesn’t mean a thing unless you are actually going to stand up for the rights of women.

TERF (trans-exclusionary radical feminist) used to be an insult. Now it’s a badge of honour worn by women sick of woke politics and tired of being second-class citizens.

And it is the rise of the TERFs who may well have lifted Trump into the White House.

National Post