Donald Trump’s support has only grown in the face of near-constant controversy, jaw-dropping gaffes and unrestrained displays of violence and racism at his rallies.
But now a group of women is trying a new tactic to derail the GOP frontrunner — to swear off sleeping with or dating any man who supports Trump.
The “Vote Trump, Get Dumped” movement invites women opposed to Trump to “Join us by wielding your influence.”
“Until Trump is defeated, we don't date, sleep with, or canoodle with Trump supporters,” a manifesto on its website reads.
Supporters are encouraged to post memes on social media of controversial things Trump has said about or to women, and to change their profile pictures to ones showing off their crossed fingers to signal they’re offering "no access" to their bodies. The movement takes inspiration from the “sex strikes” in the ancient Greek play Lysistrata, in which the female characters withheld sex from their husbands in an effort to end the Peloponnesian War.
The movement’s creators, who New York Magazine identified as Chandler Smith, a 28-year-old mother of three from Ohio and her husband, write on the site that they’re not supporting any other candidate and that they “don't really care who you vote for, as long it's a decent human being who respects women.”
“Trump has proven that he's not that person,” they said.
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Elsewhere on the site, the creators write: “This is a question about electability & suitability to lead, and Donald Trump is lacking.”
The movement has gained traction as Trump’s challenges with female voters have drawn fresh scrutiny amidst his latest controversy, this time sparked by a tweeted threat against opponent Ted Cruz’s wife.
After an anti-Trump super PAC released a web ad featuring a racy picture of Trump’s wife Melania, Trump tweeted: “Lyin' Ted Cruz just used a picture of Melania from a G.Q. shoot in his ad. Be careful, Lyin' Ted, or I will spill the beans on your wife!”
The threat sparked days of back-and-forth between the candidates, with Cruz calling Trump a “sniveling coward” on Thursday.
And a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll out this month indicated how problematic Trump’s many controversial comments with women could be for him if he makes it to the general election.
The poll found that 47 percent of Republican female primary voters said they couldn’t imagine themselves voting for Trump. In a hypothetical general-election matchup between Trump and Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton, Clinton leads Trump with female voters by 27 points.
That’s more than twice the advantage President Obama enjoyed over then-GOP nominee Mitt Romney in 2012, a gender gap that helped drive Obama to a narrow win.
