What Women Voters Really Want

05/30/24 • 47 min

3 Listeners

While the political world waits for a verdict in Donald Trump’s criminal trial in Manhattan, we wanted to take a moment to remember how we got here — especially the broader political context of the fall of 2016.

Mr. Trump is charged with falsifying business records related to a hush-money payment to the adult film actress Stormy Daniels as part of a scheme to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election.

Back in 2016, Mr. Trump was down in the polls and worried about losing support from women voters, who would, the thinking went, punish him at the ballot box for the lewd “Access Hollywood” tape and anything Ms. Daniels might make public.

That of course is not what happened. And in the years since, assumptions about how women vote have come to feel more complicated.

To discuss this, we turn to two women who have spent many years thinking about what women want when it comes to politics and everything else.

Kellyanne Conway was Mr. Trump’s campaign manager in 2016 and senior counselor to him from 2017 to 2020. Celinda Lake was one of the lead pollsters for the Biden campaign in 2020.

In 2005, they wrote a book together called “What Women Really Want,” which argued that politicians needed to take seriously the particular desires of women, who make up more than 50 percent of the electorate.

So this week we ask: What’s changed since 2005? And do Ms. Conway and Ms. Lake still agree on what women really want?

That of course is not what happened. And in the years since, assumptions about how women vote have come to feel more complicated.

To discuss this, we turn to two women who have spent many years thinking about what women want when it comes to politics and everything else.

Kellyanne Conway was Mr. Trump’s campaign manager in 2016 and senior counselor to him from 2017 to 2020. Celinda Lake was one of the lead pollsters for the Biden campaign in 2020.

So this week we ask: What’s changed since 2005? And do Ms. Conway and Ms. Lake still agree on what women really want?

Previous Episode

Why Joe Biden Isn’t Getting Credit for the Economy

As he runs for re-election, President Biden is talking about one specific issue a lot: the economy. He emphasizes the nation’s low unemployment and slowing inflation, and even rolled out a catchy nickname for the good numbers: Bidenomics.

The problem for Biden is that few Americans seem to agree that the economy is strong. They think the opposite.

This week, we explore the gap between the good economy, as described by the president, and the not-so-great economy, as felt by so many Americans. And we do it in Dayton, Ohio, where activists are working to get increasing the minimum wage on the ballot in November. It’s a view of Biden’s economy from the bottom up.

Do you have a question about the 2024 election? We want to hear from you. Fill out this form or email us a voice memo at [email protected]

Next Episode

Trump’s Guilty. Does Anyone Care?

In the days since a Manhattan jury found Donald Trump guilty of 34 felony counts, people have mostly been asking one big question.

Will this matter in November?

Over the past few days, our colleagues at The New York Times and at the Siena College Research Institute have been trying to answer that question. They spoke with 1,900 people they had previously polled to find out how they are currently thinking. Most people have not changed their mind. But some have — and they are moving away from Mr. Trump.

This week, Astead speaks with voters about how they are thinking about the presidential race after Mr. Trump’s conviction, including with people in one significant group: Trump supporters who said in October that if he were convicted and sentenced, they would back President Biden.

He also talks with Ruth Igielnik, who helps oversee polling at The Times, to understand the latest data and who is still on the fence in the race.

Do you have a question about the 2024 election? We want to hear from you. Fill out this form or email us a voice memo at [email protected]