Suburban white women are abandoning Donald Trump & apologizing for 2016

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Election Day is less than two weeks away. I’m trying not to revert to 2016 patterns, where I was refreshing FiveThirtyEight endlessly and obsessing over state polling and margins of error. I have been looking at state polls here and there, and I am aware of the conversations among professional politicos, especially all of the gossip about how the Trump campaign’s internal numbers are probably much worse than we even know.

In many swing states, there are huge gaps between support for the Biden-Harris campaign and the Trump campaign. Moreso than we ever saw in 2016, where we were just happy when Clinton-Kaine was polling in a statistical dead heat in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, etc. What’s the biggest difference? Suburban white women. That’s it. Suburban white women voted for Trump in 2016 and they’re abandoning him in droves in 2020.

If you’ve had the unfortunate opportunity to watch one of Donald Trump’s rallies of late, you’ve probably noticed a strange, recurring bit in which he begs suburban women to like him. “Suburban women, will you please like me,” he asked the crowd in Pennsylvania last week. “Suburban women,” he said in Georgia on Friday, “I heard they like my policy, but they don’t like my personality. I said, ‘They don’t care about my personality, they want to be safe.’” “I saved your suburbs,” he lectured women in Michigan over the weekend. “Women—suburban women, you’re supposed to love Trump.”

This specific appeal to a certain subset of the population is happening, with increasing desperation, because in 2016 white women—specifically white suburban women—propelled Trump into the White House. And this time around, polls show that the president is not only behind with white people in general, who he won by 20 points four years ago, but white women in particular. That’s a problem in a number of key states, but especially in Pennsylvania, which could decide the election. And unfortunately for Trump, his pleas are not working, which probably has something to do with the fact that they’re coupled with rank misogyny, in addition to the whole ignoring COVID-19 and calling for his enemies to be arrested thing.

[From Vanity Fair]

Politico did a story on a microcosm of this “white women leaving Trump” phenomenon in rural/suburban Pennsylvania, where white women who voted for Trump in 2016 are now just openly apologizing for what happened.

Juliann Bortz wants to apologize for something she did a few years ago. The 71-year-old resident of the battleground state of Pennsylvania, a registered Democrat, voted for Donald Trump. It wasn’t that she was unhappy with former President Barack Obama: She voted for him, too. Bortz, who lives in the Lehigh Valley, a swing area, thought a “new approach, a business approach” couldn’t hurt when she cast a ballot for Trump.

“I was wrong. Boy was I wrong,” said Bortz, who is white. Her change of heart is due to the “lies,” the “division” and Trump’s attacks on veterans. And she said there are friends and neighbors just like her — Democrats who voted Republican in 2016 but are now flipping back.

“We were joking about forming a group, like the, ‘We’re so sorry, group,’” she said.

Bortz isn’t alone: Women in Pennsylvania and across the country are leaving Trump behind, including the white women who helped power his victory four years ago, according to polling in key states. White women with college degrees in Pennsylvania are especially done with him, rejecting him at even higher rates than they did in 2016. And while Trump is still winning white women without college degrees in the state, he’s doing so by a much smaller margin than in 2016.

In a place like Pennsylvania — a state Trump won by only 44,000 votes in 2016 and which is now widely considered the tipping-point state in the Electoral College — those margins matter. Joe Biden is beating Trump by a polling average of 6.7 points in the state, according to FiveThirtyEight. And white women are a major part of the reason.

[From Politico]

I feel like, right now, we just need to get everybody on the bus for Biden-Harris. Let’s get ‘em all, even the Lincoln Project people, all of the white women, everybody get on the bus. Then once the election is over, we really need to sit down and have a BIG conversation with all of these Beckys and Karens and Susans about how they can NEVER pull this sh-t again. Were they living in a f–king cave in 2016? “A business approach” from a bankrupt traitor, serial sexual assailant and white supremacist? Jesus Christ.

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133 Responses to “Suburban white women are abandoning Donald Trump & apologizing for 2016”

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  1. BL says:

    About friggen time, ladies!

  2. waitwhat says:

    I’m a suburban white woman and I can honestly say that all of the Trump-voting suburban white women can kiss my dimpled white a**. F you for being so stupid in 2016. Not forgiving you so save it.

    • Betsy says:

      +1
      I’m a suburban white woman and I managed to vote for Hillary Clinton because I’ve worked on my culturally internalized sexism and misogyny and realized that women do most everything better than men. It was no secret what trash Trump was and is.

      Though welcome to the party, regretful ladies. Stay here. Vote like Black women always have.

      • Dss says:

        Yes this… I am a suburban white female from PA and knew what a piece of Sh*t human he has always been…..voted for Clinton 2016 and will vote for Biden/ Harris

    • Christine says:

      Right? Did they all just miss the crap that happened leading up to the election? It’s not like it came about that he’s a terrible person AFTER he was elected. Wtf

      • Kristen says:

        I thought about this, and I bet white women (moms) are abandoning him because their COVID experiences have been so much harder than men’s experiences and they know it’s due to Trump. Working plus kids plus education plus everything else that we’re expected to do… White women abandoning Trump is just the natural result of his COVID response in general, but it’s showing especially now that there’s no second relief package. At least, that’s my bet.

    • Lucy2 says:

      Suburban white woman here too, and I agree, there is no excuse for voting for him in 2016. Even if you knew nothing else about him, that access Hollywood tape should’ve been the nail in the coffin. But there was no excuse for not knowing about the racism, sexism, and all of the other things he was so very upfront about for years. They turned a blind eye and voted for him anyway, and there is no excuse.

      I’m glad they’re sorry, I hope they feel guilty and regret every damn day.

    • Mabs A'Mabbin says:

      Yes ma’am. These ridiculous frakkers don’t even deserve a southern, ‘bless their hearts.’

    • Esmom says:

      Agreed. JFC. For them to openly admit that they supported Obama but then voted for Trump? The elephant in the middle of the Politico article is why didn’t they even consider voting for Hillary? I can’t even believe these people were/are really Democrats. Deplorable.

      • Betsy says:

        Sexism is like a grey fog we’ve all just agreed not to mention half the time.

      • CC says:

        I think democrats really underestimated how unpopular Hillary was. I know the Clinton kills people thing is a meme, but there’s a reason why Washington alludes to them being dangerous. While I’m sure sexism is a factor (although I’m not comfortable with the way the convo is going-white women are definitely not more oppressed than black men, in case anyone gets that idea), the glaring one is that she already had a bad reputation and didn’t excite her base enough to vote. Trump made his base deranged enough to vote. The fact that feminists and other vocal left wing people were shitting on her before she won the primaries was a sign to me that she would lose tbh.

    • fluffy_bunny says:

      Suburban white woman who voted for Hilary. No one has needed to save my suburb. If they did it would be up to my democrat mayor to do not Trump.

    • Original Jenns says:

      ““We were joking about forming a group, like the, ‘We’re so sorry, group,’” she said.”
      I have so much rage seeing this. So much rage.

      • Shirley Gail says:

        Right there with you, Sis….I scare myself sometimes, I swear

      • Sass says:

        @Original yes. That little aside pissed me off. People died because of this man. People continue to die because of this man. “Joking” about starting a “oops my bad” club is sofa king gross.

    • Sunnyjyl says:

      Same. F— them. They punched us in the gut and themselves in the face by voting for “something different.”

  3. Nikki* says:

    Please don’t be lulled by polls, etc. I’m sorry to say there are plenty of Trump flags in my neighborhood. VOTE.

  4. Caroline says:

    I am so anxious about this election. I have a very real fear that he will win again.

    • tealily says:

      I don’t know what we will do if he does. I think of how I felt when I woke up the day after the 2016 election and just laid there for a second before checking my phone because I was pretty sure he had won with the way things were headed when I went to bed, and I wanted to live a little longer in the possibility that we had just elected our first female president instead. I felt such a sense of loss and betrayal that so many people in our country voted for him. If it happens AGAIN, knowing what we know now about what a Trump presidency actually looks like, I really don’t know how I’ll handle it.

      • Mustlovedogs says:

        I did this and I live in Australia. If I could vote, I would. But instead I send you all my love, support, rage, empathy, indignant horror, hope…. everything. xxx

    • Mabs A'Mabbin says:

      Me too. The depression is now tangible. I seriously can’t control it.

  5. Lonnie tinks says:

    I am terrified, TERRIFIED that he is going to win again.

  6. Darla says:

    I mean, privately I’ll die mad at them. But I read the story, or a similar one, but I think it was the Politico story, and I admit I was heartened by the young white mothers who voted for him in 16, because what it sounded like to me is that they have been so scared straight that they’ll never vote for any Republican again. And that bodes well for the future of the planet. So, a silver lining. But I think about the babies, and now we just found out (well we knew, but it’s been confirmed) that almost 600 little children are in custody and they can’t find their parents, because they deported their parents. And I am so broken hearted over this, I feel that this is the biggest sin to come out of the trump years. I mean, there is a lot, but this? This is so pure evil, you don’t walk back from this. So I always think of that line in Kesha song, Praying: some things only God can forgive.

    The torture of babies is above my pay grade, that’s for God to deal with. God will decide your level of complicity in that evil, not me. Good luck.

    • Kristic says:

      I agonize about the families that were separated at the border. I have these flashbacks to leaving my daughter at daycare and having to walk out when she was crying and I think about not being able to ever see her again. I think about how I would feel and how scared and abandoned she would feel.
      And I cannot fathom how anyone could condone this, but I think they just look the other way and ignore it. Praying Biden Harris.

    • Cafecito says:

      Darla, I completely agree with you.

      I also hope they won’t just ask for forgiveness, they need to vote, to make pressure so those kids/families get as much help as needed.

    • Doodle says:

      I’m concerned about what will happen in 15, 20 years when those kids are older, are in the States and have access to guns. Mental health access is abysmal in this country and those kids will be young adults with a rightful chip on their shoulder. There will be a reckoning. I’m not sure who exactly will pay but innocent lives will get caught in the crossfire, and I’m nervous about it. It stuns me that no one in politics will address this.

      • Regina Falangie says:

        Doodle. I agree!! The republicans have created a very real enemy. They have birthed a monster with a ticking clock which will have long lasting effects that we can’t fully imagine yet. It’s terrifying.

    • whatWHAT? says:

      the childless parents are a F*CKING HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION and 45 and all his complicit supporters who made this happen need to be tried at the Hague. I was sick to my stomach when I read that story. those poor parents and those poor, poor babies.

      • Darla says:

        I agree that Trump, Miller, that blonde lady, and all the others who had a hand in this should be tried at the Hague.

      • Betsy says:

        Don’t forget that Miles Taylor POS who has been trying grab his five minutes of as a newly minted never Trumper (never mind he worked for the guy) was part of it, too. AND he just tweeted today that maybe the parents brought their kids all the way up here and then abandoned them on purpose. JFC, I cannot understand the level of stupid, bigoted and cruelty that would make a person type that out. And then send it out into the internet!

    • megs283 says:

      Darla, I want to vomit. And another article said that they separated these children KNOWING that they were not tracking them or that they had a way to track them.

      This would hit me hard anyway, but I also have a 2 yo and a 4 yo. So it’s even easier to picture the trauma.

    • Original Jenns says:

      Yup. 600 children will never find their parents. 600 families are missing a baby. But suburban white women are sorry #Idontreallycaredoyou

  7. QueenMeow says:

    I really wish it were the case in my very Republican leaning NJ suburb. I feel like I’m taking crazy pills on the daily. It has not been good for my mental health, because while all the polls are showing a Biden win I still see and hear PLENTY of female Trump supporters loudly and proudly showing their support all around me.

    • Darla says:

      Yes me too here on LI. My two MAGA SIL’s are still pro-trump, and so are my mom’s neighbors.

      • Chris says:

        Some trump supporters are digging in their heels but I have been hearing from independents and Republicans in my family who voted for trump switching over to Biden. I’ve noticed fewer trump yard signs. It’s weird because while I’ve noticed fewer houses with trump signs, the ones who do have them have more than one or one giant one. I don’t know if it’s significant but I’ve also heard from younger voters who weren’t interested in politics at all before now, seeing voting as something you have to do by default like going to the dmv or filing your taxes. I think it’s the fact that politics has invaded pop culture significantly. I’m really hoping it all makes a difference.

      • Louisa says:

        I’m on LI also (Nassau) and I was beginning to feel a little hopeful as until a week ago there were very few Trump yard signs compared to 2016. But in the last few days I have seen a big number of those obnoxious flags go up. While it could be the husbands doing it and their wives are not supporting it, I’m not holding out much hope. I’m nervous.

      • Lemons says:

        @Chris, I think they are losing friends. Whether it’s to COVID or people finally deciding ENOUGH, that social circle is bound to get smaller. Opportunities are looking slim, and perhaps they’re starting to realize that they are currently living in Trump’s America and even if “white is right” in their minds, they lived a much more peaceful life before the orange turd came to office.

        We still need to try and turn these folks to Biden because I could very well see them voting Trump assuming that Biden will win and rolling with whatever happens.

      • Ellen Olenska says:

        Keep in mind, the voting booth is private. At lot of these same people will vote for Trump again. They may not plant a sign in their lawn but ultimately they only care about their taxes and how they perceive the stock market affects them.

      • velvet72 says:

        I don’t live on LI but grew up there and my whole family is still there. My sister and BIL are despondent over all the Trump supporters. They are out east but other friends closer in to Nassau say it’s the same. I can’t understand it since if you are over the age of 35 you most likely grew up knowing Trump as a business failure and clown. The only explanation is that most of the people out there never left for college or careers and live in the same general setting as when they grew up. They never experienced a more diverse life with different kinds of people so they have no frame of reference beyond their own white middle class bubbles. LI is still basically segregated with whites in certain towns and people of color in other towns or specific areas in towns and they want to keep it that way.

      • Chris says:

        Yeah I can’t believe it took this long, but I think the pandemic and the vitriol of hardcore trumpers are what turned them away. I don’t think they’re lying about who they’re voting for in 2020 because they didn’t hide it in 2016. My Republican FIL voted for Hillary though because he thought he was an a-hole. My MIL was happy about pence being religious. Surprisingly her turn came about because of the police brutality (I’m surprised honestly) and her trump supporting friends being so flippant about the pandemic when she herself is high risk. BIL doesn’t like all of the bigotry (I can’t explain why it didn’t bother him in 2016).

        Take all of this with the knowledge that we’re all from Delaware. If it’s any consolation, delawareans love the Biden family. I’ve only heard good stories.

      • Darla says:

        Velvet you have an excellent point about segregation on LI. We were the most segregated suburb in the country, in the country! when I was growing up and I really have no reason to suspect that standing has changed.

  8. MaryContrary says:

    I’ll believe this AFTER the election.

  9. Becks1 says:

    Good, they should be sorry and should be apologizing and should remember how this feels for the election after this one and the one after that etc.

    Honestly, the whole “I wanted a businessman” thing is BS – they didn’t want to vote for Hillary and right now don’t want to come out and say that.

    • Esmom says:

      Agreed. Unless they only watched the Apprentice, which by all accounts relied on tons of smoke and mirrors to make Trump look coherent, no sentient person could actually believe that he was good businessman. I mean I was a college student in the 80s with a Spy magazine subscription and even then I knew what a complete moron he was. And he only got worse from there.

  10. GreenBunny says:

    As I white women in Pennsylvania with a college degree, I say to all these women that voted for him, go f*ck yourself. If you somehow didn’t see him for what he was 4 years ago, you’re an idiot and the blame for all the past 4 years lay squarely on your shoulders. Imagine what life would be like right now if we had someone competent handling the pandemic. I can’t wait for a day where it feels weird to be able to get out of the car and walk right into a store without wearing a mask.

  11. Kalana says:

    They’re scared about losing Roe. Birth control is next.

  12. Sigmund says:

    Yeah, I kind of agree that we need to get everybody on the Biden train and then, after inauguration, take a long, hard look at the f*cking idiots who bought what Trump was selling. I personally think that, if blatant racism and misogyny are not dealbreakers to you, then you are supporting those ideals. Regardless of your feelings on taxes or whatever. Maybe some of his supporters will finally admit to themselves that they still carry a lot of problematic beliefs, and that was what allowed them to accept Trump.

    • Darla says:

      Yeah. They need to have a come to Jesus moment with themselves. Really examine their own internalized misogyny, and of course, their racism. and then get educated.

    • Merricat says:

      The GOP has lain down with dogs and gotten up with fleas. They may as well raze the party and start over.

  13. Lizzie says:

    For sure he will try to get as many ballots as possible thrown out. Cheating is his only option.
    In 2016 one lady at work said she didn’t know much about Trump except he was an extremely successful businessman. I lost track of her since then but I wonder how many women fell for that line and it it’s still on their radar. I do think women keep track of everyone in the family when it comes to health. It’s been a tough year to try and keep your family safe and this joker says nobody important get’s it anyway is a slap in the face.
    And of course he has done nothing for the suburbs, but what’s another lie.

    • Esmom says:

      I do have to say that one suburban white woman I work with, not the brightest bulb, with was a Trumper and has turned around since the pandemic started.

      • Chris says:

        I’m pretty floored that the biggest blow to Trump wasn’t literally all of the other horrible stuff he did like babies in cages, colluding with a foreign government, making fun of gold star families, and on and on. It was his poor handling of the pandemic and probably the resulting downturn of the economy. In the end what mattered most was their bank accounts and own personal health. I hope they’re all embarrassed when they tell their grandkids who they voted for in 2016.

    • fluffy_bunny says:

      An extremely successful businessman doesn’t file for bankruptcy multiple times. He’s a bad businessman.

      • Shirley Gail says:

        Don’t you get it? He successfully fleeced huge numbers of contractors, conned his way into the company of queens (at least one doddering old lady), got himself on TV for a bunch of seasons, has his name up in lights in cities throughout the world and man-handled 100’s of women (a redneck’s wet dream), including but not limited to beauty queen contestants whilst doing all the above. What’s not to love?

  14. Veronica S. says:

    I don’t give a damn. Damage done. And considering the races are tightening up in Ohio and Pennsylvania, there aren’t enough of them coming to their senses. Miss me with these apologies. It’s the young people who will have to carry the weight of the detritus. We get to spend decades cleaning up this mess.

    • BlueSky says:

      These women can go f@ck themselves. It must be so nice to be so privileged. F@ck anyone that votes for POS because what you are saying you don’t GAF about me. As a WOC my life is in more danger now than ever before because of the white supremacist squatting in the WH.

  15. Bibliomommy96 says:

    I have no faith in suburban white women, sorry not sorry. Too many of them are just like trump, and their husbands, but they hide it better behind their manicured nails, and hair salon cuts. They don’t want things to change, because they profit so much off everyone else.

  16. Tiffany says:

    Naw, he came after them. That’s why.

    Just how stupid do you have to be to think that a overqualified white woman would be concerned about you when she will be running a whole country.

    They showed who they really are and I bet you their social calendar took a hit these past few years and that is why they are getting on the bandwagon.

    When people show you who they are the 1st time, believe them. -Maya Angelou

  17. S808 says:

    I don’t wanna hear it till I see the post election polls.

    • Bibliomommy96 says:

      Exactly, I went to sleep last time, with so much excitement, thinking we finally had a woman president, that my country was too smart, to elect a dotard as president. I woke up the next day and cried, and I have been angry at these women since. I will not forgive you, and the +20k people dead will not forgive you.
      Now when they say vote like your life depends on it, people aren’t being facetious.

  18. YAS says:

    I’ll believe it when Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are declared the victors of this election. I’m not saying these women aren’t out there. I’m just extremely distrustful of their judgment.

    • Msmlnp says:

      Couldn’t agree more. I remember waking up day after election 2016 absolutely stunned that Trump won. That people were so stupid to fall for his swill, his lies, his emptiness. He’s a phony, always has been and there clearly were enough people to in the right places (f u electoral college) to put this punk in power. I’m suspicious that these kinds of statements are insincere.

  19. Faithmobile says:

    He is not going to win again. Its time to focus on the prize. Stop clicking on his news stories and the media will stop giving him free airtime. 2018 is proof of a blue wave, looking back at 2016 polling and being afraid doesn’t help America. Put up signs, bumper stickers, Vote early! And start supporting down ballot Dems! Hillary didn’t loose because people where “lulled” by the polls she lost because she failed to energize the electorate.

    • Chrissy says:

      Also remember Hillary won the popular vote by over 3 million votes overall and, because of the Electoral college, lost narrowly in swing states with high electoral votes. Biden is leading in those states now and with democratic enthusiasm high, I have to believe he and Kamala will prevail. (Fingers and toes crossed)!”

  20. Leah says:

    “ I saved your suburbs,” he lectured women in Michigan over the weekend. “Women—suburban women, you’re supposed to love Trump.”

    I live in a suburb, a multi racial suburb that didn’t need saving in 2016 and does not need “saving” now. He didn’t save anything. He’s basing this on the June Cleaver/Donna Reed tv women of his childhood, an ideal not based in reality. As my friend who grew up in the 50’s told me the other day: “never once during my childhood did I see my mother vacuum the house while wearing a dress and pearls”.

    As for the suburban women who voted for him in 2016, I honestly don’t care about their regrets. They and the others who voted for Trump are the reason why the last four years have been hell for everyone else who didn’t vote for him. 2020 is the rotten cherry on the top of those four years and to be honest if it wasn’t for the pandemic, he’d have a lock on the next four years. I won’t be relaxed until Jan 20th because I have a feeling he’s not going to leave that easily.

    I remember people telling me in 2016, “oh give him a chance”. Well times up, he’s had his chance and he’s got to go.

  21. SamC says:

    Yeah, I don’t know. I have several acquaintances in that demographic who are still flying Trump flags, proudly. Vote, I hope people don’t get complacent believing polls, and I also hope the weather is beautiful on election day so people who prefer to cast their vote November 3 don’t decide to opt out and stay home if it’s storming.

  22. Ohpioneer says:

    You could’ve knocked me over with a feather when my sixtyish white male neighbor who has done nothing but praise Trump told me he voted early and voted for Biden! 😮

  23. SJ Knows says:

    I have nothing to apologize for, I’m a suburban, white, female, 59 y/o who voted for HRC.

    I am glad to hear that folks of whatever gene, race, etc. are awake to Trump being an awful, evil, stupid person, unfit to hold the office of POTUS.

    Thank you, and vote out Trump.

    • Truthiness says:

      I live in a blue suburb of a blue state. Always knew he was worse than garbage and that goes for his whole family of grifters. He didn’t save a damn thing, he ran a good economy into the ground, let polluters run amuck and 210K+ too many people are dead as a result.

  24. Msmlnp says:

    I’m a suburban white woman who is independent voter – didn’t vote for him then, would never vote for him.

    For me, the only good thing about his presidency has been the unveiling of people’s ugly hearts. Sadly that includes family members for me too. Yet I’d rather know people for the racist misogynist fake Christians they are than continue to allow these snakes to slither around in my life.

    • Lady D says:

      He has screwed with hundreds of thousands of people’s lives, upended or destroyed families with his policies, and I bet it doesn’t even register with him. He doesn’t give anyone who can’t help him a second thought.
      He did do a good job of exposing hypocrites though.

    • Christin says:

      Same here. Some of his supporters surprised me; others did not. I just don’t understand how any reasonable, decent person can support this type of *human*. This goes beyond media playing along with the 4-year reality show and trying to normalize him. It’s idolatry in some cases.

      Add to that some people clearly vote as they want to control others lives (e.g., against abortion and same sex marriage) instead of helping others and not judging them. It’s certainly been eye-opening.

  25. Cacec04 says:

    Ok, I get that even those of us who feared him becoming president couldn’t even imagine just how much more of a shitshow he has been, but to not fear his presidency at all and actually vote for him that first time? Gtfoh. You had to either not be paying attention to the 2016 election at all, have no knowledge of him or his rep for the last several decades, or actively cheered his abhorrent behavior to vote for him. I don’t want to hear about these women having some sort of “a-ha” moment lols that makes them a noble or special person. Just stfu and vote. Your moron is showing.

  26. shanaynay says:

    Hallelujah. It’s about time you’re finally realizing what most of us knew from the beginning. Better late than never. Welcome!

    • ME says:

      Nope…too late to say sorry. They caused us 4 years of absolute hell. Stupid b*tches.

      • Anna says:

        Word @ME

      • smlstrs says:

        And for families who lost their careers or their businesses, for people who lost loved ones to to deportations, border separations, police shootings, white supremacy violence, covid, other health issues, etc. – it will affect them the rest of their lives

  27. Kate says:

    I just moved to PA and have registered to vote and got my mail-in ballot but now I’m feeling anxious about voting that way after seeing the latest Last Week Tonight. So many potential errors down to your signature accidentally not matching, and on top of it they can’t tally votes in PA until election day so it could be days/weeks until our results are known during which time it could *appear* to be a Trump victory before all the democrat mail-in votes are tallied. Someone tell me what to do. My mom just says it doesn’t matter how you do it just do it but I’m too worried with PA being such an important swing state.

    • Cinnaber214 says:

      Hi Kate: it will be ok. See if you can vote early and turn in your blank ballot while doing so. Call your state Democratic Party first and ask them to connect you to a voter protection resource line (in my state it’s staffed by attorneys).

      All the best to you!

    • cf says:

      It looks like PA may have some drop off locations at satellite offices, and you can drop it off at your county board of elections. There are also links to check on your ballot after you drop it off.

      • Kate says:

        Yes we can send in our ballots now or drop them off early and we can check on our ballot online – BUT they still won’t tally the vote early in PA as far as I know, which means more delay after election day in results. Also I don’t think there’s anything you can do if your mail in ballot is rejected for any reason (like you can’t go vote in person or fix it).

    • Veronica S. says:

      Kate – I’m from PA and have been voting by mail by awhile since I (used to) travel for my job. My suggestion is to read the directions in the envelope very carefully, 2-3 times before you fill it out. You’ll want to use a pen to fill in each circle properly, and make sure you use both the privacy envelope AND the outer mailing envelope, since that’s the biggest thing that gets ballots tossed. There are two signature lines on the outer envelope. The second one is a witness if you need help preparing the ballot. Double and triple check that you signed correctly and filled out your information properly.

      PA tracks and alerts each mail in ballot. They will tell you when it’s received and counted. If you’re nervous about mailing it this late, then you need to locate your county elections office and drop it off manually. It should be located on the back of the envelope, but you can also google it for your county. I’ve never had a problem mailing mine, but I’m in a well populated suburb. This year, I literally just drove up, went in, and handed it over at the desk. If you must mail it, it is treated as priority mail by the postal service, but you can purchase tracking at the post office if you’d prefer.

  28. Izzy says:

    Yeah, well, after he won I put all my mezuzahs inside the doorways and since then I have spent every synagogue service I was at formulating an exit plan in case there was a shooter.

    So no, apology not f***ing accepted.

  29. Gippy says:

    Suburban white women 34 now (college degree of it matters). I was firmly in the #pantsuitnation as were the majority of my friends. I was flabbergasted when he won in ‘16. This time around I’ve been more vocal and took my head out of the sand. I’ve written senators (mostly using Resistbot – recommend you everyone!) and contributed to campaigns for the first time. I have seen some people flipping, but not enough in my red state. Hubby and I voted early and in person. So, so many more people have voted early this election – reversal of previous years it seems many that are registered as dems. But I keep reading and hearing about those going to vote red on Election Day, this scares me. I’m just hoping the blue wave comes strong enough. Don’t get complacent get out and vote.

  30. judith A reeder says:

    Im glad that you finally woke up to the fact that Trump is a moronic asshat. I knew it even before he ran for President. I voted for Hillary!!!

  31. Coco says:

    Do they expect a gold star and a cookie?

  32. Lucy says:

    I don’t even remember where I read it, but they interviewed one of the “Regrets” ladies and she claimed to have no memory of the grab em by the p***y tape. Like she went on about how could she have known how awful he was? And they brought up the tape and she didn’t remember it.
    We need some sort of mass deprogramming. For the QAnon nutters too.

    • schmootc says:

      It was all over the news. For a while. Not to mention all the women accusing him of sexual harassment. You’d have to have been living under a rock to miss that. Apart from that, it was 100% obvious that the man is dumb as a box of hair.

      The QAnon people scare me more though, honestly. They seem to not only be dumb, but they also have absolutely no critical thinking skills whatsoever.

    • Tiffany says:

      She remembers. People need to remind her everyday that she is garbage and voted for garbage.

      I ain’t here to give them an iota of empathy.

  33. Lizzie says:

    In his decline Trump lives in a world where All In The Family was on TV last night and it is a big shock and worry that a black person might move to the suburbs. He only sees them on Good Times so he does not consider that a black person would buy a house in the suburbs, no he is talking about building high rise low income house right next door to your suburban home. He has no idea that black people have been buying homes all over the country, including suburbs, for 50 years at least.

  34. What...now? says:

    With so many videos of white women losing their minds over Black Lives Matter and having to wear a mask and having meltdowns from Walmart to Starbucks and everywhere in between. . .I really wonder how many have changed their minds. Look at how many white women are rabid QAnon believers, are anti-vaxx, anti-science and pro “essential oils” to cure everything. As a middle-aged white women, I am just amazed at how legions believe this ridiculous shizz. My guess is the reason why they may have changed. . .is someone they know and care about got COVID and either died or almost died. Only when tragedy strikes these kinds of people personally do they ever have a moment of “clarity.” Otherwise, they don’t give two shizzes if other people suffer. Same for white dudes.

    We just have to Vote, vote, vote and make sure Trump and his ridiculous sycophantic cult of senators and house reps go down — and go to jail!!

    • Anna says:

      Agreed @What…now?

    • schmootc says:

      Another middle-aged white woman here, and I don’t understand either. I grew up in a very rural red state around a lot of conservatives, though I did go to school somewhere quite liberal. I’ve gotten more liberal as I’ve aged, but even when I was younger, I still gave a crap about other people and could see there was a world beyond my own damn self.

      Got my ballot last week, will be dropping it in the box at the library for Biden-Harris on Friday when I pick up some holds. At least I don’t have to be ashamed of either my 2016 vote or this one.

  35. Anna says:

    White suburban women forming a “we’re so sorry” club? No, thanks, with that precious bullshit. “Sorry” is an action verb. Get out and canvas for Biden-Harris, help others to vote, fight voter suppression, do something, anything. Nobody has time to waste centering their plea for forgiveness. We’re out here trying to survive and make a change.

  36. Valerie says:

    It’s good that they’ve changed, and I welcome any new support for Biden, but I cannot wrap my head around the fact that they’re just catching up now. What gave them the idea in 2016 that he was a capable candidate?

    As for as forgiveness goes, maybe it means less coming from a Canadian, but I don’t know if I can extend my full forgiveness to these people. They are fully responsible for the hellhole that they sank their country into. I just hope it can recover once he’s out.

    • Liz version 700 says:

      The country and the insanity that has reverberated to the world. How did they miss the clues this guy was not Presidential material.

  37. phaedra says:

    I’m confused. If Trump wants women voters can’t he just go out and “grab them by the p***y?”

    • ChillyWilly says:

      Yeah and apparently these women would rather vote for a p***y grabber than someone who actually OWNS a p***y. Internalized misogyny is real, y’all.

  38. Grey says:

    I refuse to believe anything about people not voting for him or that he is going to lose until the votes are all actually cast and counted. It’s too scary to hope for that again and see him be potentially re-elected. I am not trying to be a Debbie Downer, but just can’t take the hope until it is all over.

  39. Busyann says:

    Teehee hee. This reminds me of what happened in California after Arnold was governor. He was okay, dont get me wrong, and if he would have run for President against Trump or whatever, I wouldnt feel worried for my life if Arnold was President. BUT, once his time was up, a lot of Californians were like, okay, we did it once, let an outsider/celeb try to run things…..never again! People voted former governor, Jerry Brown back into office because we wanted someone tried and true I guess? I hope that something similar will happen here. Trump never should have been elected and I would bet money this is the last time anyone in this country votes a celebrity for high office like that. The thing I worry about is this election though. It feels almost too good to be true….could we be so close to getting our freedom papers? I dont want this hell for 4 more years.

    • Sigmund says:

      I’ve never understood why some people want an “outsider” to “shake things up”. There’s a reason your average person off the street can’t handle being governor (or president). Skills that apply to other situations don’t apply here. We want a politician who knows what the heck they’re doing, because as Trump has shown us, it is perfectly possible to be incompetent AND corrupt.

    • fluffy_bunny says:

      Wasn’t Ronald Reagan the governor of California at one point? He was also a celebrity who you let run your state.

      • Leah says:

        @fluffy_bunny,

        Yes he was. Late 1960’s into the early 1970’s. He was governor when I was born. Up until that time he was just a curiosity who had been a movie actor several decades before.

  40. ChillyWilly says:

    Apology not accepted, bitches. People are DEAD because of this monster they decided to vote for just to “see what happens” . Over 500 refugee children are still (and probably always will be) separated from their parents!

  41. Sunnyjyl says:

    I want a handwritten apology, personally addressed to me. I’ve been so angry at every woman and mother’s son who voted for 45.

  42. Elle says:

    Of course he panders to the middle class and up haha.

  43. NotSoSimpleTaylor says:

    If that horrible man wins again, I’m advocating for a refugee program for African-Americans, Muslims and other minorities living in America in Western Europe. I genuinely get Hitler vibes from him and I fear for a lot of people if he gets re-elected.

  44. Liz version 700 says:

    I remember seeing this spray tanned pig of a man on TV when I was 12 (In ye Olden days of the 80’s) and thinking what a disgusting human he was. He was discussing his requirements for the tightness of women’s vaginas to keep him impressed. 🤮🤮🤮 I was a moderately bright 12 year old, but not brilliant. You don’t need to be to see this man. Speaking as a white woman who was madder than a hornet in 2016 I gotta say I’m gonna loose it if they do this again. School busses should be used to bring them to the meeting. Anyone who voted for trump should not be on a nice bus while enroute to the “don’t ever pull this again meeting.”

  45. Keira says:

    The NY Times’ The Daily podcast points out that a lot of Latino men are Trump supporters…he appeals to their sense of manliness, business acumen…and it’s all about the economy (cough cough). https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/19/podcasts/the-daily/latino-voters-biden-trump.html

    • Berlin says:

      White suburban Pa Biden voter here. This economy thing Trumpers use drives me insane. He did not create a good economy. He inherited it from Obama! And the stock market is saying now that they want Biden because it will give the market stability, and Biden will be better overall for it after, you know. Hate typing that name more than once. But this Trump= Great Economy crap has got to go! It was OBAMA’S growth. He just lucked into it. Plus, if he was so great at growing the economy, why the heck isn’t he doing it NOW. Nobody thinks these things through on the right. If covid disappeared tomorrow, he couldn’t grow the economy back to what it was in a million years because he is a failed businessman and a con artist bankrupt liar.

    • Lanie says:

      He’s also got black male rappers on lock. They’re practically tripping over themselves to support trump.

      • Anna says:

        @Keira and @Lanie This is so disgusting but sadly believable since misogyny always seems to win with these mfs. What I don’t understand is how, if it *is* about economy and money, they can still stan for someone like 45 who has shown himself to be a complete disaster as a business person on every level. There’s no acumen there, nothing of substance or ability. He is a liar, a cheat, and a rapist (that last part these men don’t seem to care about since such values are ingrained in patriarchal society). Maybe I’m missing something with regard to taxes but there really truly is no ground to stand on if it’s about business. 45 is a failure on all levels. I just hate that I keep getting disappointed when I should know better. Sadly, good men seem to be few and far between, in my humble experience.

  46. Rise & Shine says:

    Time will tell. We will see. MEANWHILE, watching Obama at Drive in speech in PA right now, and he is AMAZING! Try to catch it if you can! We can do this, we just have to get out the vote.

  47. Wolfie88 says:

    Nope! Unforgiven.

  48. Juxtapoze says:

    I’ve had a few conservative friends come at me lately with “but have you compared their tax plans?”. I’ve politely told them that there is NO compromise on ANY issue that would make me change my mind & vote for Trump. He is a pathological liar, sexual predator, bully, racist, moron. Basically a vile disgusting human on so many levels. Absolutely unfit for the highest office in the country. Unfit for the lowest office.

    • JanaTHING says:

      Ive told my diehard conservative friends that I choose morals over money, but if they’re such true conservatives, how can they support a President that has blown up the national debt??? While adding this trivia, there have been only two Presidents in the last century who actually lowered the debt or balanced the budget and guess what? They were Clinton and Obama. Mic drop.

  49. Emerald Crystal says:

    I’m so worried about the mail in ballots getting in too late to be counted. It’s no coincidence that Trump hired one of his biggest supporters to be the new Postmaster General right before the election. The mail has been running late, and my neighbor who is a postal worker said that they are swamped, because of recent layoffs and the removal of sorting machines. The reason given was to save money for the postal service to survive. I don’t buy it for a minute. Trump has been telling his supporters to vote in person, because the ballots are being tampered with or fake. He has the idea that if people vote by mail due to the coronavirus, then maybe their ballots won’t make it in time to get counted. I have a friend who told me that her postal delivery guy took her ballot, and then turned around and told her that Biden’s son was about to be arrested for some child porn charges. I told her that I would have reported it to the post office, but she thinks he was just making conversation. He probably has told everyone that crap he came in contact with, while delivering the mail. It’s not his job to discuss politics and it really pisses me off, because he probably wouldn’t even get in trouble, since the head guy is a Trump freak. I think I will go in person after hearing about the postal worker.

    • Anna says:

      @Emerald Crystal I’m with you on this. I don’t trust the mail (and sadly, don’t have very much trust even in the in-person ballot system either). It’s a terrible risk to go out at all but I’m going to early voting so that at least I can see my ballot being processed in the “official” system. We have every reason to expect that the voting system has been f-ed with by the Republican party whether through the postmaster general and/or Russia and/or all of the other means they are using to damage the vote. It will be a miracle if we get anything close to a real and fair process.

  50. Winterforever says:

    I’m still feeling really prickly towards the women who voted for Trump in 2016. One of my oldest friends is a suburban Black woman who did, which was shocking to say the least. We didn’t speak for over a year and she wasn’t the only one. I am just happy women are pulling their heads out of their asses and are voting for Biden. It gives me a thrill of thrills it’s bumming Trump out in a big way that women are deserting him this time around.

    • Anna says:

      That is shocking. As Black women, we are the *least* likely all of demographics in this entire country to vote for him. She’s probably one of 5 BW in the entire country, barely a blip on the radar.

  51. Dude says:

    I’m a suburban white woman, from FLORIDA, no less, and I didn’t vote trump in 2016 or 2020. No excuses. Zero. None.

  52. JanaTHING says:

    I am a woman living in a blood red suburb of Columbus, Ohio, and I can tell you that for the first time in the 16 years I’ve lived here, there are more yard signs for the Democrat rather than the Republican! The most diehard Trump supporters from 2016 no longer have a sign displayed~that speaks volumes, because they were real assholes about their support for that fool!