Judith Levine is an award-winning journalist and essayist who lives in Brooklyn. She has raised eyebrows by providing sharp critiques of Donald Trump’s actions and rhetoric towards women. Levine is a frequent contributing writer for the Intercept and the author of five books. Her prophetic insights continue to shape the terms of our national political debate today. Her recent writings highlight how Trump embodies both personal and political misogyny, posing threats to women’s rights and reproductive healthcare.
Levine argues that Trump’s approach to governance resembles “a chimera with the soul of a snake and the brains of a policy wonk.” This powerful metaphor emphasizes her point that Trump’s behavior is deliberate, often hurtful, and especially abusive towards women. In her Substack newsletter “Today in Fascism,” she explores the implications of Trump’s policies on a demographic she describes as “the universe of people capable of having babies.”
Back in March 2023, Trump took a highly unusual step. He decided to withhold tens of millions of dollars from Title X, a federal program that distributes money to family planning services. This move has been seen as just another step in a larger pattern aimed at further degrading access to reproductive healthcare. Levine points out that Trump’s administration dismissed three ongoing legal cases related to women’s rights while pardoning 23 individuals convicted of violating laws designed to protect abortion patients and clinics.
“Usually, the critique of Republican candidates has been based on policy – healthcare access and abortion rights – or on attitudes heavily influenced by religion,” noted political analyst Libby Nelson. Levine takes this feeling a step further by arguing that what Trump is doing goes beyond issue-based opposition. He insists that they show a profound hatred for women who contradict him.
Levine goes on to detail how Trump’s administration has shackled reproductive rights’ future prosecutions. At their behest, they have worked to undermine the hard-won legal protections women depend on. She notes that in 2023, it was almost one-fourth of active-duty women who said they had faced sexual harassment. That indicates a societal problem compounded by today’s toxic political environment.
Trump’s vitriol, Levine continues, is an unknowable but the deeply human way that the scorned man communicates being wronged and betrayed by the women in his life. This sentiment is echoed in Trump’s own words: “For those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution.” She furthers that she thinks this declaration demonstrates a short-sighted and harmful approach. It drives the violence that he incites against women, particularly those who have publicly resisted him, such as Stormy Daniels and E. Jean Carroll.
These policies are not simply political theater. Researchers at the National Institutes of Health write that they represent a critical and urgent public health priority. Levine’s analysis sheds light on the urgent need for vigilance against policies that threaten women’s autonomy over their bodies and healthcare decisions.