American voters have now chosen Donald Trump over a woman for president twice.

Found responsible for sexual abuse, insulting women, and Roe v. Mr. Trump, a flawed candidate who boasted about overturning the Wade case, defeated Hillary Clinton in 2016 and defeated Vice President Kamala Harris earlier this week.

Can a woman break what Mrs. Clinton described as “the highest, hardest glass ceiling?”

Women now hold a record number of seats in Congress and governorships. But in running for president, they are challenging the idea of ​​who can hold a position of power largely associated with white men.

“There are definitely people out there who are uncomfortable with women being in leadership positions,” says Debbie Walsh, director of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University. “Donald Trump fed this uneasiness.”

Mr. Trump mocked Ms. Harris during the campaign, saying she would “melt down” if she confronted male authoritarian leaders. Last week, he reinforced a rallygoer’s claim that the vice president was a prostitute.

Jasmine Daniels, a restaurant worker in Milledgeville, Georgia, says she hopes to see a female president one day. But she voted for Mr. Trump.

“It was a tough choice: moral versus economic,” he says. “I chose the economical one.”

Krissy Fraelich was “shocked” by the election results. Not only did Donald Trump win, he won very decisively. He saw it as a strike against women’s rights, especially reproductive rights, and a blow to any hope of seeing a woman in the Oval Office. American voters have now twice chosen Mr. Trump over a woman for president.

“It’s a slap in the face,” says the professional actor from Springfield, Pennsylvania. “I remember my 25-year-old daughter calling me from Florida in tears and asking, ‘Why does America hate women so much?’ “I made him say.”

Many women across the United States report feeling distraught, in pain and fearful of Mr. Trump’s return to the White House. His supporters, 45 percent of whom are women, have been found responsible for sexual assault, crudely insulted women, and violated Roe v. They wonder how she voted for a man who bragged about overturning the Wade case.

What does it mean for Mr. Trump to defeat Hillary Clinton in 2016 and come back to defeat Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024? Can a woman break what Mrs. Clinton described as “the highest, hardest glass ceiling?”

Debbie Walsh, director of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University, says women are indeed electable, as evidenced by Mrs. Clinton’s victory in the popular vote eight years ago. Last year, women held a record number of seats in Congress (151, or 28%), and with this election, women now hold a record number of governorships (13).

This week, Mr. Trump announced that his campaign manager, Susie Wiles, would become his White House chief of staff, the first woman to hold the post.