Billionaire and philanthropist extraordinaire Melinda French Gates just endorsed a presidential candidate, for the first time ever, according to her—and it’s Joe Biden. In an op-ed for CNN, French Gates called this election different from any other, one in which “the stakes for women and families couldn’t be higher.”
She continued: “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.”
French Gates has long been involved in bipartisan politics from the sidelines, mainly through her venture capital firm Pivotal Ventures. One of the firm’s priorities has been to increase the representation of women in politics at all levels, with a focus on achieving near parity in Congress during her lifetime. Until now, however, she has refrained from publicly backing a specific candidate, she said.
French Gates denounced what she called former president and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s “often divisive, sometimes violent rhetoric.” It ranges from “sexist attacks he lobbed at women journalists to calling for his opponent to be jailed.” She pointed to restrictions on foreign aid to those providing reproductive services and on a federal family planning program imposed by Trump.
And of course, she touched upon the Supreme Court justices he appointed, who eventually led to the overturning of Roe v. Wade—the constitutional right to abortion that had existed for five decades prior to its reversal.
“In the two years since Roe was overturned, emergency rooms have turned away pregnant women in desperate need of care because doctors feared legal consequences,” French Gates wrote. “Obstetricians have fled states with strict bans, which could leave women without access to basic services like contraceptives.”
She added: “The U.S. Already has one of the highest maternal mortality rates among advanced economies, and most OB/GYNs agree that the decision to overturn Roe has led to more maternal deaths.”
If Trump is elected, he would allow states to monitor and prosecute pregnant women, which he has made clear, French Gates argued. But Biden had done the opposite, in her view; he’s fought for reproductive freedom, reinstated funding, and supported access to medication such as mifepristone. She also claimed “Biden is, put simply, the strongest champion for caregivers the Oval Office has ever seen.”
“While Trump has boasted about rolling back the rights of women, Biden understands that the future of our country depends on them,” she wrote. “That’s why Biden has earned my vote. I urge anyone who cares about women and families to join me.”
In May, French Gates announced she’d be stepping down from her and ex-husband Bill Gates’ nonprofit; she’d be leaving with $12.5 billion for her own philanthropy. She then announced a billion-dollar commitment over a two-year period to organizations supporting women and families across the world. At the time of her exit announcement, she said: “This is a critical moment for women and girls in the U.S. And around the world—and those fighting to protect and advance gender equality are in urgent need of support.”
Now it seems we know what, or maybe who, she meant.