It’s safe to say Donald Trump’s debate performance did not resuscitate his image among women, what with the creepy looming and the dismissal of sexual assault bragging as mere locker room banter. In fact, YouGov’s post-debate poll, which showed Hillary Clinton winning 47 percent to 42 percent overall, had a massive gender gap, with 50 percent of women saying Clinton won to 38 percent who thought Trump did.
The New York Times interviewed nearly two dozen women, finding many disturbed by both Trump’s past bragging about sexually assaulting women and getting away with it because he’s “a star” and by his lack of remorse in Sunday’s debate. And they aren’t just disturbed—they’re rethinking their votes:
Diane Crawford, 62, a resident of Greenfield, Iowa, was struck by how eagerly Mr. Trump sought to change the subject to Mrs. Clinton’s spouse and his infidelities.
“He just kept throwing Bill Clinton in there,” she said, “and Bill Clinton is not running for president.”
A skeptic of Mrs. Clinton’s heading into the debate, Ms. Crawford said she had changed her mind during those tense exchanges. “I’m not hesitant any longer to support Hillary,” Ms. Crawford said. “She showed her leadership ability with her response.”
Karyn Sloas, 48, an independent in Knoxville, Tenn., said she had planned to vote for Mr. Trump until she heard about the recording on social media over the weekend.
She was repulsed. She thought of the example that Mr. Trump had set for her 16-year-old daughter and her 18-year-old son. “I don’t want him to think it’s O.K. to talk that way,” Ms. Sloas said.
Trump desperately needed white suburban women to avoid going down in a landslide. Evidence suggests that Sunday night didn’t do much to slow the bleeding from Friday’s fresh wound.
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