In the past, Trump supporters have attempted to downplay Donald Trump's struggles with female voters by claiming that his strong alpha-male persona will appeal to them.  But is Trump truly an alpha male?

On the surface, the easy answer would be yes.  Donald Trump is a billionaire businessman; Donald Trump has a beautiful wife; Donald Trump is a bestselling author; Donald Trump has a wildly successful reality TV show.  While Donald Trump has a lot of reasons to feel self-confident, he still comes off as insecure and thin-skinned.  If an alpha male is confident and self-assured, then Donald Trump is no alpha male.

Ask yourself: do strong, confident men feel the need to constantly remind you of how much money they have?  Would a strong, confident man feel the need to defend the size of his genitalia during a nationally televised presidential debate?  These questions answer themselves.  I found it painful to watch him use the occasion of a victory speech to defend his business record, in front of a table piled high with Trump merchandise.

Compare Donald Trump to Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau, a leader famously popular with female voters.  While sitting in parliament, Trudeau defeated conservative M.P. Patrick Brazeau by technical knockout in the second round of a celebrity boxing match.  Following his victory, Trudeau commended his opponent’s strength and fighting spirit.  Strangely, Trudeau forgot to mention his net worth, or the college he graduated from.

I asked a focus group of female swing voters in suburban Cook County what they thought of Trump.  Admittedly, my focus group was small, consisting of only one suburban woman who shared her impression of Trump, and the man he sometimes admires, Vladimir Putin.  Paraphrasing, here is what she told me:

On Putin: I understand why the Russian people like him, because he genuinely is tough.  What turned me against Putin was the story about him stealing Herman Kraft's ring; I thought, This man is a thug.

She had an even lower opinion of Donald Trump.

On Trump: Sometimes I think he has Alzheimer's.  He can behave himself for stretches, and then it's like his medication starts to wear off, and he just says the first thing that pops into his head.

I was really offended by the way he and his campaign treated that young woman, Michelle Fields.  They attacked her personally; they described her as wearing “stripper heels.”

Candidly, it would be difficult to draw any firm conclusions from such a small sample size.  My study wouldn't pass peer review.

With that said, it appears that women don't like bullies, especially crazy bullies.  When a man running for president personally attacks a young woman, no matter the circumstances, it doesn't look good.  Woman may admire strength, but they don't like it when the strong man picks on those weaker than him.  At least Vladimir Putin picks on men his own size.