Aiexpress – First Lady Jill Biden spoke in Tucson on Saturday, blasting Republican efforts to restrict abortion in a speech interrupted by demonstrations against the United States’ support for Israel’s military incursion in the Gaza Strip.
Biden’s speech in Arizona was the second stop on a tour designed to mobilize female voters for her husband, President Joe Biden.
“It’s no coincidence that Arizona is one of the places we’ve selected to visit for our ‘Women for Biden’ launch this weekend. Because four years ago, Arizona, you placed us in the White House,” Clinton told a predominantly female audience at the Fox Tucson Theater.
Suburban women were a critical component of the coalition that helped Democrats win the White House in 2020. The overturning of the historic abortion case Roe v. Wade in 2022 has energized many people, particularly women, to support Democrats and is regarded as a major reason driving Democratic victories in elections after that decision.
Protesters stopped Biden four times during her 15-minute speech, criticizing her husband’s handling of the new wave of confrontations between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Israel’s military campaign into Gaza, launched in response to Hamas’ October 7 attacks, has sparked outrage among progressives in the United States due to its high humanitarian toll.
The crowd’s chants of “four more years” drowned out each protester.
Continuing her pointed tone from her first campaign event in Atlanta, Georgia, Biden took direct aim at her husband’s likely general election opponent, former President Donald Trump. Biden described Trump as insulting to women and emphasized his support for abortion regulations.
“Donald Trump has spent a career knocking us down and undervaluing our existence.” He mocks women’s bodies, disrespects our accomplishments, and boasts about assault,” Biden stated. “Now he’s bragging about killing Roe v. Wade.”
Trump indicated last week that he is considering adopting a limit on abortion at 15 weeks, which is near the beginning of the second trimester.
“Donald Trump is a threat to women and our families.” We simply cannot let him win,” Biden said. “When our bodies are on the line, when our daughters’ futures are at stake, when our country and its freedom hang in the balance, we are immovable and unstoppable.”
On Saturday, an OB-GYN named Danielle Allen-Herried introduced Biden.
“Republicans intend to push this extremist goal even farther by outlawing abortion nationally. They can be stopped. And that begins in Arizona,” Allen-Herried stated.
When prompted for a response, the Trump campaign brought up the recent passing of Laken Riley, a nursing student in Georgia who authorities believe was the victim of an illegal immigrant.
“The horrific murder of Laken Riley by an illegal immigrant is every woman’s greatest fear, and Joe Biden’s actions have made that nightmare a reality. Karoline Leavitt, national press secretary for the Trump campaign, stated that women want a president who will secure borders, remove violent criminals from neighborhoods, and build an economy that supports hardworking families. “Women know our nation will be safer and more prosperous under Donald Trump than it is under Joe Biden, and that’s why President Trump is leading in every single battleground state poll.”
On the same day Biden arrived in Atlanta to start the “Women for Biden” program, the Republican National Committee released a statement promoting a distinct set of women’s problems.
The Republican National Committee said that Joe Biden has “taken steps to erase the progress women have fought for” by promoting language designed to be inclusive of transgender persons and that women and families are suffering economically under Biden, citing the president’s high disapproval ratings on that topic.
“Biden’s radical policies have hurt women across the country, leading to women increasingly rejecting Biden ― and the Democrat Party ― for failing to represent them,” according to a press release.
Jill Biden is leading the “Women for Biden-Harris” project in 2024, which aims to mobilize women voters for the Democratic presidential ticket this year. Her attendance on Saturday was at an event celebrating the 20th anniversary of Arizona List, a pro-choice political action organization.
Maya Harris, a Democratic policy adviser and Vice President Kamala Harris’ sister, also spoke at the event, which took place just days before Super Tuesday, when most states hold their presidential primaries or caucuses. Biden has easily won all of the primary elections so far.
While women’s rights may be an electoral strength for Democrats in 2024, progressives’ opposition to his management of Gaza could be a liability. In Michigan’s Democratic primary last week, the number of protest votes on the subject appeared to exceed Trump’s victory margin in the state in 2016.
Kaliana Venet, one of the protesters who stopped Biden’s speech, stated that she feels Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and will “absolutely not” vote for Joe Biden in the future election.
“I was really disappointed, when we’re talking about celebrating women and the importance of women in positions of power, that this topic of the femicide that is happening in Gaza wasn’t addressed,” she went on to say. “Some women in Gaza are having C-sections without anesthesia. There are children in the NICU who are dying because the incubators lack power.
The first lady will then visit Nevada and Wisconsin, both of which are expected to be up for grabs in 2024.
