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'What a Joke': Republicans Blast NY Magazine Cover Story on GOP Women

Leah Barkoukis
Leah Barkoukis  |  June 19, 2024 9:30 AM

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) joined the chorus of conservatives sounding off against a recent New York Magazine cover story questioning if Republican women are OK.

“How did Republican women end up like this?” the headline reads. “The baffling, contradictory demands of being female in the party of Donald Trump.” 

A graphic accompanying the piece features a mashup of South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem carrying a gun and Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene with a MAGA hat. 

"On the cusp of an election season that could further reshape this democracy and women’s place within it, the questions facing the women of the Republican right are tricky,” writes Rebecca Traister. “Are they supposed to be cutthroat or cute? Cold enough to kill a dog or warm enough to bake an apple pie?"

The story also questions where Republican women should give their attention—country, husband, God, or Trump. 

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"Women fundamentally cannot lead a party that wants to oppress women; they cannot, in fact, be fully human within it,” Traister says. 

Blackburn, whose line of questioning of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson during her 2022 confirmation hearings was referenced in the piece, was able to find humor in the story. She discussed the story with Fox News's Martha MacCallum on "America’s Newsroom."

Martha, I laughed all the way through this article because I thought the left absolutely requires submission of women to their ideology, and their goal is to really erase the lines of gender. And they would love to be able to do that, but they require that you submit. And if you ever challenge them, if you ever push back on them, then they are going to cut you out. They cannot stand strong, conservative, independent-minded women who really like being female, who really like being a mom, who really like being a woman. That does not fit their template. You know, I look at the left sometimes and I say they are the Stepford Wives of the leftist ideology because you have to come right into lockstep. You cannot deviate if you’re going to be a female leader on the left.

MacCallum: Yeah. I mean, the irony to me has always been that they talk about supporting women, but they only support liberal women. I mean, they should just say that up front because, yes, they are not supportive of women across the board. They are only supportive of women of one political ideology. (Transcript via Mediaite)

Conservatives on X criticized the cover story.

NYC Council Member Vickie Paladino called the story a "joke."

"We know which bathroom to use, and apparently this is baffling to the very smart people at New York Magazine," she commented on X. "Equally baffling to them is the fact that we don't all conform to identical social, economic, or professional profiles -- unlike progressive women who are, lets face it, almost completely interchangeable at this point. 

"The highly conformist and insulated progressive mind cannot comprehend that women don't all have to look, think, behave, and live identically to share core beliefs about fundamental truths in the world," she continued. 

"Not surprising as the modern left in 2024 is almost exclusively populated by a culture of rigorous conformity that would make Kim Jong Un blush. These people all went to the same schools, have nearly identical lifestyles, completely identical beliefs, and share a handful of urban professional careers. And they violently shun anyone who strays even an inch.This is the lens through which the author obtusely pretends to try and grasp the fact that we aren't like her, and it's why she's so unsuccessful in her performance -- going so far as to say we can't be 'fully human' because of our politics," Paladino added. "What a joke."