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PHOENIX — Make America Great Again supporters cheered as the pink jacket crew entered the room of the Trump campaign's office in Phoenix on Monday evening.
"I didn't come empty-handed. Look at the ladies I brought with me," said Lara Trump, the co-chair of the Republican National Committee, who is leading a group of women traveling across the country to make the case for former President Donald Trump's reelection.
After taking on the role of RNC chair by request of her father-in-law, Lara Trump has changed things up. Now, the RNC's two sole priorities are: "Get out the vote and protect the ballot, and that is what we have done," she said.
During the evening, she tried to reframe the conversation about abortion and urged voters to pick the candidate who prioritizes safety and economic growth.
Lara Trump is on the Team Trump Women's Tour for a reason. Polling shows Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris enjoys stronger backing from women, while struggling with men, especially Black and Latino men, two groups that Democrats could previously count on. Meanwhile, a higher percentage of male voters say they will vote for former President Trump.
What's Trump's Women's Tour?
One member of the pink jacket crew is former professional race car driver Danica Patrick, who said she has never voted before but is politically active this election, and credited Turning Point Action founder Charlie Kirk for inspiring her to become engaged.
Others included reality TV star Savannah Chrisley, former ESPN host Sage Steele, "Dance Moms" contestant and internet personality Kira Girard, attorney, commentator and "Apprentice" contestant Erin Elmore, and RNC national spokeswoman Elizabeth Pipko.
So far, these women, sporting pink jackets that say Women for Trump, have traveled to South Fulton, Georgia; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; and Las Vegas — all in swing states where neither candidate has a strong lead.
"You feel how important this election is. And I have to tell you it's why we're all here today, why all these women are away from home, their families," said Lara Trump, Eric Trump's wife, during the Phoenix visit.
While answering the Deseret News' question during a press gaggle, she said the voter "gender gap" isn't "as big as the media would have people believe."
The idea of a "gender gap" in politics isn't new, but recent surveys indicate this gap has widened since Harris entered the 2024 race.
According to the latest CBS News/YouGov poll, published on Monday, Trump earned support from 54% of male voters, but saw a more than 10-percentage-point dip among women, with 43% support.
Fifty-five percent of women chose Harris for president in the survey, but she also faces a 10-percentage-point drop among men, with only 45% expressing support.
Kari Lake, Lara Trump talk about abortion
Harris' leading issue is reproductive rights, something that Republicans have shied away from in recent election cycles — until recently when Donald Trump said he will be a protector for women on the issue of abortion while promising to never federally ban abortion.
During the press gaggle, Lara Trump said people are misinformed about the Trump campaign's abortion policy while speaking to voters who say they are disengaged because of this particular issue. He also supports IVF, she added. For undecided female voters in Arizona, Lara Trump has a simple message:
"When push comes to shove and people are in a voting booth, you have to close your eyes and take the name Kamala Harris and Donald Trump out of it," she said. "You have to think about your life four years ago. Did you feel like you could actually afford things? Was your life safer? Did you feel better about the prospects in the future for your children?"
Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake also made remarks at the event before the other women arrived. She also hammered on the same point, saying that instead of Congress deciding, Arizona voters will get to decide if they want a 15-week abortion ban, or a 24-week ban, which is on the ballot this election.
"I want to make sure that we are passing legislation that is pro-family, that lets women know there is help out there," Lake said.
What is Harris' vulnerability?
As Lake and Trump's daughter-in-law court women voters in the waning days of the presidential election, Harris attempts to solve a similar problem with men.
Over the weekend, Harris was heard on a hot mic at a bar with Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, when she was recorded saying, "We need to move ground among men." A clip of the interaction has been circulating online.
Last week, when NBC's Peter Alexander asked her about her campaign's disconnect with male voters, Harris pointed to the diversity of the live audience in the studio. When Alexander further pressed the vice president on it, she said, "That's not my experience I'm having right now, to be honest with you. I mean, look around." In another interview with "The Breakfast Club," Harris dismissed this weakness. "The brothers aren't saying that," she said, before calling it a "media narrative" issue.
While the vice president denies these vulnerabilities, her campaign bought new ad spots during televised football games in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania — both swing states — on Sunday and Monday. The move is an effort to energize male voters by painting Harris as the champion for the working class and Trump as the outsider, according to CNN.
