For years, Donald Trump has waged a war on women.
That’s according to podcaster Jennifer Welch, critically acclaimed writer Nell Scovell and The Daily Beast’s Chief Content Officer Joanna Coles, who explored why Trump seems unable to tolerate women who reject him, challenge him or simply refuse to play along—and how his fixation on female approval exposes something deeper about his ego—on Sunday’s episode of The Daily Beast Podcast.
There’s a subset of women, Coles emphasized, who have little in common other than the fact that they irk the president like no other. Taylor Swift, for example, has repeatedly been lambasted by Trump, most notably after she endorsed Kamala Harris during the 2024 presidential campaign. “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!” the then-candidate declared on Truth Social immediately following her endorsement.
Marjorie Taylor Greene, meanwhile, stands in stark contrast to superstar Swift—yet has sparked a similar emotional reaction from Trump after the former congresswoman broke ranks to condemn him on a number of political issues. Rosie O’Donnell, Trump’s longtime sworn nemesis whose feud with the president began over comments she made on The View two decades ago, also belongs to a category of her own.
But as different as they all are, Welch said there’s one tie that binds Trump’s female foes together.
“What they all have in common is that they have revealed to Trump that they know he’s a fraud, and so they put a mirror up to him and they’ve created a narcissistic injury to him,” the I’ve Had It podcast host said.
“And when a narcissist is injured, they lash out in the way that he has towards every single one of these women the most vicious way possible.”
A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Scovell, for her part, noted that the president himself has shown a warped version of reality when it comes to his relationships with women.
“Trump thinks he’s pretty hot stuff,” Scovell said. “Trump did say ‘all of the women on The Apprentice flirted with me, consciously or unconsciously.’”
His deluded sentiment did not come as a surprise to Welch, who quipped: “He looks in the mirror and he sees prime Brad Pitt looking back at him, and he can’t imagine that everybody wouldn’t just want to sleep with him.”
In his second term, Trump has appeared to be at odds even with women from his inner circle. Seven women have departed from the White House this year, including, most notably, former White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, embattled Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson and Director of Media Affairs Sonny Joy Nelson are also among those who have left their posts.
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