Dismisses Clinton as playing the “woman’s card,” says she’d get “5 percent” if she were a man

During his April 26, 2016 victory speech after sweeping five Northeastern primaries, Trump belittled Hillary Clinton by saying that the only thing she had going for her was the “woman’s card” and claiming that if she were a man, she would not get “5 percent of the vote.” The line reduced Clinton’s candidacy to her gender and implied that women who support her are being manipulated rather than making a substantive choice, echoing Trump’s long pattern of attacking women’s looks, bodies, and legitimacy in politics. Clinton and many commentators immediately called the remarks sexist, and the campaign leaned into the backlash by literally handing out mock “woman cards,” underscoring how central Trump’s gendered attacks were becoming to the 2016 race (see 2015-12-21_to_2015-12-27 for his “schlonged” comment and 2016-03-14_to_2016-03-20 for other personal attacks on Clinton).

"The only card she has is the woman’s card. If Hillary Clinton were a man, I don’t think she’d get 5 percent of the vote." — Trump Tower victory speech on April 26, 2016, after winning five Northeastern Republican primaries, as he framed Clinton’s appeal as nothing more than the “woman’s card” in front of cheering supporters and live TV cameras