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Donald Trump has been branded “creepy” for calling a female senator “young” and “fantastically attractive” in a bizarre moment while trying to court women voters at a Fox News town hall.
During the event in Cumming, Georgia, hosted by Harris Faulkner and recorded on Tuesday, Trump was asked a question by a pro-life mother-of-three who said she was concerned about abortion bans impacting access to IVF treatment.
After proclaiming to be “the father of IVF,” which went unchallenged by Faulkner, Trump then shared an anecdote of a phone call he had with Republican Alabama Senator Katie Britt.
“So, I got a call from Katie Britt, a young, just a fantastically attractive person from Alabama,” Trump said.
“She’s a senator. And she called me up like, ‘Emergency, emergency,’ because an Alabama judge had ruled that the IVF clinics were illegal and they have to be closed down – a judge ruled.
“And she said, ‘Friends of mine came up to me and they were, oh, they were so angry. I didn’t even know they were going.’ You know, they were, it was fertilization.”
Trump continued: “I didn’t know they were even involved in, nobody talks about that, they don’t talk about it. But now that they can’t do it, she said, ‘I was attacked.’ In a certain way, ‘I was attacked.’”
The Republican candidate then admitted he asked Britt to “explain IVF” to him: “And I said, ‘Explain IVF very quickly.’ And within about two minutes I understood it. I said, ‘No, no, we’re totally in favor of IVF.’”
Britt has not responded to the former president’s reference to her physical appearance, but yesterday backed Trump for his “unwavering” support.
“From the start, President Trump has been a strong and unwavering champion for IVF, which is profoundly pro-family,” she said on X. “I am honored to stand with him, Senator Cruz, and every Republican in the Senate in support of continued nationwide IVF access.”
A clip of Trump’s remarks – billed as an event for female voters to ask Trump questions on issues that matter most to them – circulated on social media, with commentators branding him a “misogynist” and “creepy.”
“Trump gets all creepy at Fox News town hall,” one person wrote on X.
“Misogyny on full display,” another said.
“It’s beyond disgusting how he talks about women,” someone else chimed in. “No one cared but him that Katie was ‘beautiful’. It doesn’t matter. All women matter. All women are beautiful but that doesn’t mean it defines them.”
The Trump campaign’s national press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, told The Independent that Trump is “loved by millions of women across the country.”
“The media’s negative portrayal of President Trump and his treatment of women is entirely false,” Leavitt said in a statement. “President Trump is loved by millions of women across the country, and those who know him personally, myself included, will tell you he’s supportive, generous, and kind.”
She continued: “President Trump’s first-term economic policies uplifted women by putting more money in our pockets, and he also made expanding access to childcare and paid family leave top priorities in his Administration, and he will do so again. Additionally, President Trump supports universal access to IVF, which Senator Britt has been fighting to protect in the U.S. Senate.”
Trump’s claim he is “the father of IVF” also sparked backlash, with Kamala Harris calling it “quite bizarre.”
She added: “If what he meant is taking responsibility, well then yeah, he should take responsibility for the fact that one in three women in America lives in a Trump abortion ban state.”
Abortion and IVF have become key issues this election.
While Trump claims to support the fertility treatment, Democrats warn that the overturning of Roe v Wade and rollback of abortion rights could pave the way for Republicans to take aim at IVF access next.
In February, Alabama’s state Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos had the same rights as children, forcing some IVF clinics in the state to put treatment on hold.
As a result of the fallout, Alabama lawmakers passed a bill to protect clinics from criminal prosecution, and IVF services were able to resume.
In Georgia, Republicans have said they support IVF but also dismissed calls from state Democrats calling for more protections around access to the treatment.
