Trump says "whether the women like it or not, I'm going to protect them" at Wisconsin rally

Former President Donald Trump said Wednesday at a campaign rally that "whether the women like it or not," he will "protect" them, noting that his advisers had instructed him not to use the line, which he said they deemed "inappropriate."

Speaking near Green Bay, Wisconsin, Trump tried to hammer the Biden-Harris administration on immigration, saying they had  "imported criminal migrants" to enter the country and to "assault, rape and murder our women and girls." He then added that "anyone who would let monsters kidnap and kill our children does not belong anywhere near the Oval Office."

The former president then described how he would "protect" women, though he noted that his team had urged him against using the line.

"My people told me about four weeks ago, I would say 'no, I want to protect the people. I want to protect the women of our country. I want to protect the women,'" Trump said, describing how his advisers said it would be "very inappropriate for you to say." 

"I said, 'Well, I'm going to do it, whether the women like it or not, I'm going to protect them,'" Trump said. 

Trump went on to ask the crowd, to applause, "is there any woman in this giant stadium who would like not to be protected? Is there any woman in this stadium that wants to be protected by the president?" 

Harris responded Thursday morning to Trump's comments, telling reporters that it's "very offensive to women in terms of not understanding their agency, their authority, their right and their ability to make decisions about their own lives, including their own bodies."

"This is just the latest on a series of reveals by the former president of how he thinks about women and their agency," she added.

Thursday evening, Trump press secretary Karoline Leavitt indicated in a statement that Trump also wanted to protect men and children from "migrant crime and foreign adversaries." 

Trump's comments come as a recent CBS News poll showed a widening gender gap among voters, with women supporting Vice President Kamala Harris by a 10-point margin. Among the findings, 40% of registered women voters say that the Trump campaign is paying too much attention to men's concerns, and 56% saying the campaign is paying too little attention to women's concerns. 

In recent weeks, Trump also referred to himself as "father of IVF," and he's sustained criticism for disparaging remarks he's made about his opponent. Meanwhile, former ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, who competed against Trump during the primary, has pointed out how critical women are in this election, while urging the Trump campaign not to "get overly masculine."

"Fifty-three percent of the electorate are women," Haley said on Fox News earlier this week. "Women will vote. They care about how they're being talked to and they care about the issues. They need to remember that."

Meanwhile, prominent women in politics believe women will overwhelmingly support Harris — and may do so in secret. Former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, who appeared on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" on Sunday, urged women to "vote your conscience" in the 2024 presidential election, even if it's not the way the men in their lives think they should vote.

"You should do what you think is right," Cheney said. "And I think you're going to have, frankly, a lot of men and women who will go into the voting booth and will vote their conscience and will vote for Vice President Harris. They may not ever say anything publicly, but the results will speak for themselves."