Wendy Davis criticises 'disappointing response' from women laughing at Donald Trump's sexist remarks

The Texan senator highlights the problem with Donald Trump that no-one is talking about

Wendy Davis delivering a 13-hour filibuster (AP)

Wendy Davis is urging women to reject sexist comments by Donald Trump after criticising the “disappointing” response from those who applauded and laughed at them.

The Democratic senator became a prominent women’s rights champion by giving a historic 13-hour filibuster to block a bill restricting abortion rights in Texas. Much of her time in office has been spent advocating issues affecting women and Davis has become famous for tackling gender inequality in all forms.

She is also is no stranger to sexism and endured gendered insults herself throughout her political career. Her campaign for Governor of Texas was marred by reports questioning her ability to work as a politician and maintain a family, and she was even labelled the 'Abortion Barbie' by a political opponent for her stand on reproductive rights.

Trump was widely criticised for making a number of disparaging, gendered comments about Megyn Kelly after the Fox host challenged him on his attitude towards women during the first Republican debate. They have continued to clash ever since, with Trump most recently explaining that the reason he would not call her a “bimbo” is because it would not be “politically correct”.

Appearing on The Huffington Post's ‘Candidate Confessional’ podcast, Davis highlighted one of the most worrying responses to Trump’s sexism - the women laughing with him who in turn encourage him further.

Davis said: “What really struck me about Trump's misogynistic comments were not necessarily the reactions from the men on the stage or in the audience. It was disappointing to see none of them rose to the occasion and responded and the fact that he was dismissing women, but what was very surprising was to see the reaction from women in the audience.

“When Megyn Kelly pointed out [Trump’s] derogatory statements [at the Republican debate], he doubled down on them. And when he did, he got great laughter and applause. And if you remember, the camera panned the audience, and what was so disappointing was to see the number of women who were applauding and laughing at those comments.”

“I really think that is a commentary about where we are in the fight for women’s equality,” she added. “And that unless and until women are demonstrating respect for each other we’re not going to realise the equality that we all deserve.”