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Philanthropist Melinda French Gates has endorsed President Joe Biden, citing her concerns about Donald Trump’s record on reproductive rights and the “hostile political climate” he has helped foster against female public officials.
Gates, who is the former wife of Microsoft founder Bill Gates, announced her endorsement of Biden in a CNN op-ed Thursday.
“After Trump’s first term in office endangered the health of women, compromising their safety and robbing them of essential freedoms, I’m supporting Biden this election and asking others to do the same,” she wrote.
Among the objections to Trump she noted in her op-ed were his role in Roe v. Wade’s demise, his violent campaign rhetoric and his recent suggestion that states might monitor and prosecute pregnant people. “While Trump has boasted about rolling back the rights of women, Biden understands that the future of our country depends on them,” she said.
Gates long avoided wading into elections, citing her philanthropic work with politicians from both parties. In 2015, when asked whether she and Bill Gates would endorse Hillary Clinton, she told The 19th: “I’m not sure who we vote for is really going to be the thing that matters. We’re not going to swing the election. It’s how we do our work with the leadership that’s there.”
Although unusual, her endorsement of Biden doesn’t come as a big surprise. She was critical of the Trump administration’s policies and has been outspoken about women’s rights around the world. She denounced the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe in 2022, writing on LinkedIn that the country was “taking a big step backward.”
After leaving the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation last month as part of her separation from her ex-husband, she swiftly pledged $1 billion to women’s rights groups in the U.S., pointing to the need to boost reproductive rights at home.