Alexandra Sherer, a graduate student at New York University raised in California, is the Republican District Leader from Manhattan’s 74th Assembly District and Donald Trump voter. Rare for Manhattan, Sherer joined Salon Talks to discuss feminism as a millennial conservative woman.
“I think Trump is a controversial figure and people either hate or love him,” Sherer said, adding that protests like the Women’s March are “not really getting us anywhere and it's only making things worse.”
I get that people want to express themselves but as I always say the best way to express yourself is to actually make calls on behalf of local candidates, is to actually pass out palm cards for local candidates, to get people elected to local office, rather than complaining after someone has already won or after someone has already lost.
From a policy perspective, Sherer said Trump’s aggressive rhetoric against women was more a function of his personality than any real risk.
“I think he says a lot of things because he is a straight talker, and he was obviously caught saying that and he didn't think that he was being recorded,” she said. “I know there are other instances of him saying negative things about women, but I don't know. I don't necessarily see him going out there saying, ‘I’m going to create negative policies for women.’ or I don't feel in danger of women as a women in this current state of Trump being President. I do see why, I do see why, for example why the Women’s March happened but I think feminism is more, like taking risks as a women, and trying to do things that people tell you you can’t do, and not necessarily, like, listening to what people say in an offhand comment.”
Sherer echoed 2015 remarks from Kellyanne Conway, when she pointed out that three of the Senate Republican women were pro-life and three were pro-choice, yet there were no pro-life female Democratic Senators, even as Americans are very split on abortion. The liberal view of feminism is very exclusive, Sherer said.
“If you’re not in this sort of pro-abortion, pink-hat wearing, type thing, with, like the Women’s March and everything, then you don’t fit what feminism actually is,” she said. “I think feminism should be all inclusive. It should be about getting women into high positions, it should be about electing women to local office, it should be about bringing women forward, and not necessarily about, ‘oh are you pro-abortion or anti-abortion?’ There have been a lot protests and that's just ridiculous in my opinion. I totally agree with expressing yourself, and whatever, free speech. I just feel that, we need to come together.”
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