Harris says 'we trust women' at Phoenix rally

Vice President Kamala Harris reminded Arizonans at a Phoenix rally Thursday that Friday is the last day for early in-person voting.

At the Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre, Harris addressed a crowd of thousands with what she called “closing arguments” in this campaign.

She touched on the key issues she’s focused on consistently, like preserving the Affordable Care Act and reproductive rights.

Harris criticized her opponent, former President Donald Trump, for his recent comment about protecting women - which she put into the context of abortion.

"“He simply does not respect the freedom of women or the intelligence of women to know what’s in their own best interests and make decisions accordingly. But we trust women," Harris said.

“Did everyone hear what he said just yesterday? That he will do what he wants, quote, and here’s where I’m gonna quote – ‘whether the women like it or not,’” Harris said.

Trump’s comment was in the context of border security and other things.

He stated he will protect women whether they like it or not from threats like “migrants” and “foreign countries.”

Harris said his comment makes it clear that he doesn’t believe in women’s agency.

She pledged to put country over party and represent all Americans, while drawing a contrast between herself and Trump.

“Unlike Donald Trump, I don’t believe that people who disagree with me are the enemy. He wants to put them in jail. I’ll give them a seat at the table, because that’s how a democracy works, and that’s how real leaders work,” Harris said.

Harris’ statement on finding common ground comes after President Joe Biden faced backlash for a comment some interpreted as calling Trump supporters “garbage,” though Biden says that wasn’t his intention.

Other speakers at the rally included Gov. Katie Hobbs; Congressman Ruben Gallego; Sen. Mark Kelly; Kelly’s wife, former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords; Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego; and Tucson Mayor Regina Romero.

Hobbs reminded the audience that she won her gubernatorial race over Republican Kari Lake by just 17,000 votes.

“I need you to knock doors, and make phone calls, and do everything you can to elect Democrats up and down the ballot. And, when you think you can’t knock another door, I want you to remember this: 17,000 votes,” Hobbs said.

Camryn Sanchez/KJZZ

Trump seemed to tie in abortion when he first used the “protector” language in a Truth Social post and at a rally in Indiana, Pennsylvania, on Sept. 20. He assured the women who would be “protected” that they "will no longer be thinking about abortion.”

The dispute showed signs Thursday of further entrenching each candidate's supporters.

It was not only women who described Trump's remarks as offensive. At the Harris rally in Phoenix, Edison Kinlicheenie, 50, said he sees Trump more as a threat than a protector, noting that the former president has a track record of preying on women.

“I have a wife and a daughter, so I wouldn’t let no predator like that come around" them, Kinlicheenie said.

At a Trump rally in Albuquerque, Sarah Pyle, 41, cited the opposition to allowing transgender athletes to compete in women's events to portray Trump as someone who helps women.

“I don’t want my girls to grow up in a world like this,” the Albuquerque mother said, referring to the controversy. “We fought for women’s rights for so long, and now we’re giving them back to men. It makes no sense.”

More broadly, Trump and Republicans have struggled with how to talk about abortion rights, particularly as women around the nation are grappling with obtaining proper medical care because of abortion restrictions that have had implications far beyond the ability to end an unwanted pregnancy.

Trump has given contradictory answers about his position on abortion, at some points saying that women should be punished for having abortions and showcasing the justices he appointed. During his successful 2016 campaign, he told voters that if he were elected, he would appoint justices to the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade and said he was “pro-life.”

But in recent weeks he's promised to veto a national abortion ban, after repeatedly refusing to make such a pledge. He's said the states should regulate care and said some laws were “too tough.”

Since 2022, the patchwork of state laws on abortion has created uneven medical care. Some women have died. Others have bled in emergency room parking lots or became critically ill from sepsis as doctors in states with strict abortion bans send pregnant women away until they are sick enough to warrant medical care. That includes women who never intended to end pregnancies. Both infant and maternal mortality has risen.

Camryn Sanchez/KJZZ

Harris’ campaign has highlighted Trump’s statements around women. In one campaign ad, a woman who became gravely ill with sepsis after a pregnancy complication stands in front of a mirror looking at a large scar on her abdomen, as audio plays of Trump’s comments about protecting women.

Harris hopes abortion will be a strong motivator for women at the ballot box.

In early voting so far, 1.2 million more women than men have voted across the seven battleground states, according to data from analytics firm TargetSmart.

That doesn’t necessarily translate into Democratic gains. But in the 2020 presidential election, there was a 9 percentage point difference between men and women in support for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 110,000 voters.

The Democratic ticket was supported by 55% of women and 46% of men. That was essentially unchanged from the 2018 midterms, when VoteCast found a 10-point gender gap, with 58% of women and 48% of men backing Democrats in congressional races.

Associated Press writers Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque and Gabriel Sandoval and J.J. Cooper in Phoenix contributed to this report.