Jill Biden takes on Trump on abortion rights at launch of 'Women for Biden'
First lady Jill Biden went after former President Donald Trump by name on Friday for what she said was leaving the door open to a national abortion ban and for a record of degrading women.
She spoke at an event in Atlanta, Georgia, to kick off the "Women for Biden-Harris" campaign effort she will lead heading into the November election.
"He's considering a national abortion ban. Donald Trump is dangerous to women and to our families. We simply cannot let him win," she told the crowd of women.
"We are the first generation in half a century to give our daughters a country with fewer rights than we had. Book bans. Voting laws gutted. Court decisions that strip away our most basic freedoms, but circumstances is not destiny," she said, calling on women "to meet this moment as if our rights are at risk, because they are" and "as if our democracy is on the line, because it is."
Directly naming the former president signaled a shift in tone for the first lady as her husband gets closer to a likely rematch with Trump and she hits the campaign trail on his behalf to paint the contrast between the two.
She said she recalled watching her husband, President Joe Biden, writing the Violence Against Women Act by hand on yellow legal paper, then saying Trump, meanwhile, "has spent a lifetime tearing us down and devaluing our existence."
"He mocks women's bodies, disrespects our accomplishments, and brags about assault. Now he's bragging about killing Roe v. Wade. Just last night, he took credit again for enabling states like Georgia to pass cruel abortion bans that are taking away the right of women to make their own health care decisions," she said, referring to Trump's interview on Fox News' "Hannity."
In that Fox interview Thursday night, Trump repeatedly mentioned discussions about a 15-week national abortion ban, while claiming he hasn't "agreed to any number."
"I'm hearing about 15 weeks, and I haven't decided yet. Also, we got it back to the states where it belongs," Trump said.
The Biden-Harris campaign seized on Trump's comments in statements, but it was the first lady who appeared before camera Friday and repeatedly took on Trump on the issue.
"Here's the thing about men like Donald Trump. They underestimate our power because they don't understand," she said. "They see how we lead through collaboration by empowering others. They see that as weakness, but we know that our community is our strength. They see our empathy and our compassion as vulnerability. But we know that what gives us the clarity to fight, we fight for what is right. They think our love for our children makes us soft. But we know that these are the lives that light fire in our hearts. That makes us fierce and unafraid."
She referenced the Alabama Supreme Court decision on IVF to remind voters that Biden "is defending reproductive rights, fighting for a national law that would restore Roe's protections -- and yes, that means protecting IVF and access to contraception."
She also said it was "no accident" the Biden-Harris campaign chose Georgia to launch the effort to mobilize women, "because four years ago Georgia, you put us in the White House" and called on attendees to tap into that same strength to beat Trump in 2024.
"When our daughter's futures are at stake, when our country and its freedom hangs in the balance, we are immovable and unstoppable," she said. "When we do, ladies, nothing and no one can stand in our way."
Biden-Harris campaign manager Julie Chavez-Rodriguez, introducing her at Friday's event, said the program is intended to organize and mobilize female voters because, "We know that when women show up, we win."
"This coalition is taking action and bringing women together across this country so that we can continue to support the campaign to show up and to fight for what we know are fundamental freedoms and rights," she said.
The campaign says it will mobilize female volunteers through organizing calls with top campaign surrogates and with targeted ad buys, in addition to on-the-ground events.
It comes after "Women for Biden-Harris" was one of the largest coalitions for the campaign in 2020 -- and after Trump made gains among women voters between the 2016 and 2020 elections.
According to an analysis of validated voters from Pew Research Center, while Biden's share of the vote among women was nearly identical to Clinton's in 2016 (55% vs. 54%), Trump won a slightly larger share in 2020 than in 2016 (44% vs. 39%), narrowing the gender gap historically seen in elections.
The first lady continues on to Tucson, Arizona, for the second stop of her battleground state tour this weekend, ahead of stops in Nevada and Wisconsin -- states Biden won last but cycle are expected to be highly-competitive come November.
