Pence makes an appeal to moderates with a gauzy picture of the Trump era

Much as she has for the past four years, Conway ignored the president’s decades-long history of sexist comments and the allegations of sexual harassment and abuse leveled against him by multiple women. 

McEnany shared her personal story of undergoing a prophylactic double mastectomy, but she also spoke about being a new mom in a high-stress job. 

“When I started working for President Trump, my husband and I became pregnant with our first child. I would see President Trump at rallies, and he would routinely ask me how my baby was doing,” said McEnany. “The same way President Trump has supported me, he supports you.” 

And it’s precisely this “you” of McEnany’s that gives away who the real audience was Wednesday night. 

After narrowly winning suburban voters in 2016, Trump has bled support there, especially among women, who helped to deliver the House to Democrats in the 2018 midterms. A July NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll showed Trump trailing Biden 39% to 56% among suburban women.

Trump has repeatedly tried to win these voters, whom he refers to as “suburban housewives,” in 2020 with antiquated, racially charged scare tactics like claiming that low-income housing is going to “destroy the suburbs.” 

Led by Pence and Conway, the Republican speakers on Wednesday offered an alternative to the “suburban housewife” narrative favored by Trump, one that more closely mirrors both the concerns and the lived experiences of American women. 

One good night will not be enough on its own to overcome Trump’s polling deficit with this crucial voting bloc. But with less than three months before Election Day, Wednesday offered an outline of what an effective Republican outreach effort could look like. 

Article source: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/27/rnc-2020-pence-appeals-to-moderates-with-gauzy-picture-of-trump-era.html