Jill Biden: GOP leaders underestimate the power of women

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Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

President Joe Biden listens as first lady Jill Biden speaks during a reception in the East Room of the White House for Hispanic Heritage Month in Washington, Friday, Sept. 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

WASHINGTON ā€“ Jill Biden told a Democratic women's group Friday that Republicans underestimated the power of women but that, together, they will ā€œmake sure that they never make that mistake again.ā€

The first lady said that when ā€œextremists attack rights that a vast majority of Americans support, like a womanā€™s right to choose, or when they stand in the way of affordable prescriptions or clean energy, they are letting down all Americans.ā€

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She also said ā€œit makes me angryā€ to see politicians who ā€œtreat government like a sportā€ and ā€œperform political stunts" to score a few more points against the other side.

ā€œThere are no teams to root for or against. Just people,ā€ Biden said at a luncheon during the Democratic National Committee's Women's Leadership Forum's annual conference.

ā€œThere are real lives at stake here. You know that, and I know that it makes you angry. It should make you angry," she said. She described new laws enacted by President Joe Biden as ā€œsome of the most transformational legislation in generations.ā€

ā€œAnd we did it with only 50 votes in the Senate,ā€ the first lady said. ā€œJust imagine what Joe and his administration could do with just a few more partners in the House and the Senate.ā€

ā€œWe could restore womenā€™s rights to make our own choices about our own bodies,ā€ she said, referencing the decision by the Supreme Court's conservative majority to overturn the constitutional right to an abortion, leaving individual states to decide the issue.

In response, the Republican Party said women are suffering in ā€œJoe Bidenā€™s America.ā€

ā€œFrom skyrocketing crime, to a rainbow fentanyl crisis, to historic inflation and a baby formula shortage, women cannot afford Joe Bidenā€™s America,ā€ said Emma Vaughn, a spokesperson for the Republican National Committee.

Vaughn said the party has been working to empower women voters and recruit a record number of female candidates, and that the party, which is led by a woman, Ronna McDaniel, ā€œstands for all women and we look forward to earning their vote in less than 40 days.ā€

Biden said Democrats can't decide what Republicans do, ā€œbut we can decide what weā€™re going to do, and what women do is win.ā€

She said women helped elect her husband "and we will decide what happens in November in races up and down the ballot, because we donā€™t just get angry, we get to work.ā€

Women voting in 2020 broke for Democrat Biden over Republican Donald Trump, 55% to 43%, according to AP VoteCast.

ā€œRepublican leaders have underestimated the power of women, but weā€™re going to make sure that they never make that mistake again,ā€ Jill Biden said.


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