NC Gov. Roy Cooper says that ‘disrespect of women permeates’ MAGA Republicans
Rallying a virtual convening of Kamala Harris supporters on Monday, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper hammered the top of the GOP’s ticket for what he said was a clear “disrespect of women.”
Cooper spoke early on during the “White Dudes for Harris” virtual call, the latest of several fundraising and organizing calls that Harris campaign supporters have quickly arranged since last week. Cooper used his prime speaking slot to blast former President Donald Trump, his recently selected running mate J.D. Vance, and Republican N.C. Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, who is running to replace Cooper in the executive mansion.
“Real men respect women, their decisions, their careers, and it’s pretty clear that Donald Trump and J.D. Vance don’t,” Cooper told the online gathering of tens of thousands of viewers.
“From Trump’s sexual assaults, to Vance’s misogynistic comments, it’s pretty clear that disrespect of women permeates Donald Trump land, and MAGA Republicans,” he said.
Cooper spoke on the call less than an hour after The New York Times and other media outlets reported Monday evening that he had taken himself out of consideration in the search for Harris’s running mate.
Shortly before he spoke on the Zoom call, Cooper confirmed he no longer is in the running, saying in a statement posted on social media that he strongly supports Harris’s campaign and “was honored to be considered,” but that “this just wasn’t the right time for North Carolina and for me to potentially be on a national ticket.”
In the virtual call, Cooper did not address his decision on the race for Harris’s running mate.
Instead, he went on to say that disrespect of women is “like that all over the country,” and turned to address Robinson. He referred to several past comments by Robinson, who has generated controversy and outrage throughout his time in office as lieutenant governor for rhetoric that has included referring to homosexuality as “filth” and saying women should “keep your skirt down” to avoid abortion.
“He has said that men should lead, not women,” Cooper said. “That when God needed someone to fight Goliath, he called David and not Davida. He has said that once women get pregnant, that it’s not their body anymore. He has said that women who aren’t responsible enough to keep their skirts down, are having abortions.”
Responding to Cooper’s comments, the Trump campaign said that women voters care about stopping illegal immigration.
Referring to the killing of nursing student Laken Riley in February, the campaign said the “horrifying murder” by a Venezuelan migrant who entered the country illegally in 2022, according to The New York Times, “is every woman’s worst nightmare,” and that the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of the southern border has “turned our nightmare into reality.”
The man, 26-year-old Jose Antonio Ibarra, was indicted on murder and other charges by a Georgia grand jury in May.
“Women want a President who will secure our nation’s borders, remove violent criminals from our neighborhoods, and build an economy that helps hardworking families thrive — and that’s exactly what President Trump will do,” said Trump campaign National Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, in a statement Tuesday.
“Women know our nation will be safer and more prosperous under Donald Trump than it is under dangerously liberal Kamala Harris, and that’s why President Trump is leading in poll after poll,” Leavitt said.
Cooper also blasted other Republicans in Congress who, since Harris began her presidential campaign just over a week ago following President Joe Biden’s decision to drop out, have called Harris a “DEI hire,” implying that she has advanced in politics due to her race and gender.
“You’re talking about a woman who was a great prosecutor, who got elected by the people of California to serve as the chief law enforcement officer and attorney general of the state, and got elected by the entire state of California to represent them in the United States Senate, and who has been vice president of the United States for the last three-and-a-half years,” he said.
“Here’s what they’re saying,” Cooper continued. “That women, and people of color, don’t deserve to lead.”
Cooper, like other speakers on Monday’s call, also made a plea for more white men to join the Democratic coalition and help elect Harris in November, telling the audience that “we can hold the key.”
“I’m not the political scientist or the pollsters, but I know enough to know, and I’ve seen enough polling results, or outcomes and elections to know that if white males would vote one to two percent more for Democrats than they usually do, then we win this race,” Cooper said.
Other high-profile speakers during Monday’s call included U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, all of whom are reportedly also under consideration for running mate by the Harris campaign, as well as actor Jeff Bridges and singer Josh Groban.
This story was originally published July 29, 2024 at 10:13 PM.
