New Ad ‘Girl in the Mirror’ Takes Aim at Trump’s Weakness with Women

Last updated on July 18th, 2023 at 12:16 pm

The morning after President Trump sneered “So cute” at Savannah Guthrie in retaliation for her doing her job well, the Lincoln Project dropped at an ad titled, “Your Daughters Are Watching.”

The ad takes aim right at Trump’s weak spot: American women, and specifically the suburban moms he fooled in 2016. In a stunningly emotional ad that hits right at the heart of what women have been feeling for four years under this president, the Republicans behind the Lincoln Project ask, “When your daughter looks in the mirror, what do you want her to see?”

The ad asks, do you want your daughter to see herself as Trump sees women, or as former Vice President Joe Biden sees women, the man who picked a strong, independent woman for his VP candidate, and – by the way – whose wife has continued her own career throughout Biden’s work as a Senator and then Vice President, and also managed to support her husband’s career and raise a family with him.

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Watch the ad:

This “So cute” moment from Thursday night’s dueling town halls is how women are treated under Trump – and this moment didn’t just hurt Guthrie, it wounded every woman watching it who has been spoken to this way at work by an entitled incompetent who uses “less thans” to boost himself.

Watch here:

In her memoir, 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, the most qualified candidate in modern history, described her skin crawling as then candidate Donald Trump stood behind her during a 2016 debate, stalking her like the sexually aggressive and assaulting creep he admitted to being in the leaked Access Hollywood tape.

Trump does these things on purpose, and he uses women on purpose, putting a target on their heads as his scapegoat because he knows we live in a country that culturally will too often follow his lead. But as I warned during the first Women’s March, Donald Trump birthed the Me Too movement, which has turned the nation’s eye to how women are sexualized at work precisely to keep them down, often involving criminal sexual assault that has been dismissed and minimized since women began working outside of their homes.

“Constantly bombarded by Donald Trump’s demeaning, misogynistic rhetoric, young girls have spent the last four years witnessing the leader of the free world suffer no consequences for his mistreatment of strong women. It’s time to put an end to this behavior,” the Lincoln Project wrote in their press release sent to PoliticusUSA.

“Being an intelligent, strong woman is not a partisan endeavor,” said Sarah Lenti, Executive Director of the Lincoln Project. “As a nation, we’ve been blessed to have amazing women as role models in both parties, but only ever one President who treats our gender writ large with such disdain. It’s time for a President who celebrates the perspective women have to offer, and who acknowledges their inherent worth, skill, and place in our government.”

This ad hurts because it’s so true: Our daughters are watching. They are learning from their president that they don’t belong at work unless they exist to serve a man’s ego and dress to tantalize him. They are learning that their bodies don’t belong to them. They are learning that the most powerful man on earth holds them in contempt simply for being girls.

Before Trump, we thought we had come so far. Four long, excruciating years later, this election is a referendum on so many wrongs perpetrated by this administration — including the relentless and consistent dehumanizing of women and girls.

Our daughters see themselves through the reflection of the people elevated to the highest offices. Choose wisely.

Sarah Jones

Listen to Sarah on the PoliticusUSA Pod on The Daily newsletter podcast here.

Sarah has been credentialed to cover President Barack Obama, then VP Joe Biden, 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and exclusively interviewed Speaker Nancy Pelosi multiple times and exclusively covered her first home appearance after the first impeachment of then President Donald Trump.

Sarah is two-time Telly award winning video producer and a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.

Connect with Sarah on Post,  Mastodon @PoliticusSarah@Journa.Host, & Twitter.