Trump vows to ban trans athletes from women's sports and declares himself the “Father of IVF” at a Fox News town hall in front of an all-female audience

Former President Donald Trump attended a Fox News town hall in suburban Georgia on Tuesday with an all-female audience – a demographic that could be crucial in the 2024 presidential election.

Here are five takeaways from the event in Cumming, Georgia, hosted by Fox News host Harris Faulkner and aired Wednesday morning.

Trump promises to ban transgender women from participating in women's sports

When asked by an audience member how he planned to “address the transgender issue in women's sports,” Trump promised to unilaterally ban transgender women from competition.

“It's such a simple question and everyone in the room knows the answer: We won't let it happen,” Trump said.

The former president cited recent examples of transgender athletes participating in sports competitions, including some who were banned from the Paris Olympics last summer.

“We stop it, we stop it,” Trump said. “We absolutely stop it. You can’t have it.”

Asked by Faulkner how he would implement such a ban, Trump said: “You just ban it. The president forbids it. You just won’t let it happen.”

Trump declares himself the “Father of IVF”

During the town hall, Trump said he was the “father of IVF,” or in vitro fertilization, a fertility treatment that has been popular since the Roe v. Wade is at risk after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are “unborn children.” and those who destroy them may be held liable for wrongful death.

When Faulkner introduced an audience member who had a question about Trump's stance, the former president said, “I want to talk about IVF. I am the father of IVF, so I want to hear this question.”

He explained that he received a call from Alabama Republican Senator Katie Britt, who explained the controversy surrounding the state's decision.

“And within about two minutes I understood that we are all for IVF,” Trump said. “We want fertilization and that's all, and the Democrats have tried to attack us for that, and we're even more pro-IVF than they are. So we're all for it.”

Trump says some states are “too strict” on abortion.

When discussing the issue of women's reproductive rights, Trump said that states restricting access to abortion were being “too strict,” although he did not specify which states were in question.

“They’re too hard, too hard,” he said. “And these are being renewed because there is already a movement in these states.”

On August 29, Trump appeared to express support for a ballot initiative in Florida that would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution. A day later he reversed course and said he wouldn't vote for it. Florida currently has a six-week abortion ban.

Trump reiterates that he describes the Democrats as the “enemy from within.”

Faulkner asked Trump about his comments in a previous Fox interview in which he called Democrats an “enemy from within.” Footage of the interview was played by Vice President Kamala Harris at her rally in Pennsylvania on Monday, as she argued that Trump was “increasingly unstable and unhinged.” During Tuesday's town hall meeting, Faulkner asked Trump what he thought about Harris using the footage.

“I thought it was a nice presentation,” Trump said. “I wasn’t unhinged, you know. Do you know what they are? They’re a party full of jokes.”

The former president then escalated his inflammatory characterization of the Democratic Party.

“It is the enemy from within and it is very dangerous,” he said. “They are Marxists, communists and fascists.

“They pose a threat to democracy,” he added.

A very friendly audience

According to Fox News, the all-female audience consisted of 110 women from local churches and mothers' groups.

Some appeared overwhelmed and nervous in front of the former president. Rachel, a single mother from Cumming, Georgia, told Trump she was “shaking like a damn leaf” and “having a panic attack.”

“You have a beautiful voice, by the way,” Trump told her.

And they showered Trump with applause during the hour-long event.

When Trump called Harris the “worst vice president in history,” the audience applauded loudly.

Harris, for her part, will sit down with Fox News host Bret Baier for an interview that airs Wednesday at 6 p.m. ET.