Former President Donald Trump said Monday that abortion laws should be left up to the states, after he appointed Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn federal protections for the procedure, many of which imposed new restrictions.
In a four-and-a-half-minute video posted on the social media platform Truth, Trump falsely claimed that after the Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision, “we have the abortion that everybody wants from a legal standpoint.” Most Americans consistently said in the survey they favor the court’s overturned Roe vs. Wade defense.
“I think now that we have an abortion that everybody wants from a legal standpoint, the states will determine by vote or by legislation, or maybe both, and whatever they decide should be the law of the land,” Trump said.
In doing so, he refused to take a position on a national ban pushed by some of his staunchest allies, including Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-C., and former White House aide Kellyanne Conway. In the past, Trump has indicated he might accept a national ban, citing a 15- or 16-week limit as the consensus position.
Trump has not said what he would do if he wins the presidency, and Congress has passed a national ban on him.
Over the past quarter of a century and even since running for office in 2015, Trump has been all over the map on how to handle the abortion issue. Since the start of the 2024 campaign, if he wins the White House, Roe v. He offered few specifics about what policies he would support in the post-Wade era.
Trump, a Florida resident, did not say where Florida’s new six-week ban was. While he has supported a nationwide ban, his words have often contradicted official statements from his campaign.
Trump has said he supports exceptions to rape, consanguinity and protecting the life of the mother, a position he reiterated in a video on Monday. But the president does not determine how the states pass their laws.
Trump often cited Roe v. Wade is happy to be responsible for the dismissal of his case. But he also blamed GOP losses in 2022 on the issue and said Republicans need to learn how to talk about abortion in a way that doesn’t turn off potential voters.
After abortion protections were repealed last year, he made an uncertain overture Interview on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” program he will be the voice of consensus on abortion — but he didn’t specify how.
“Let me tell you what I’m going to do,” he said. “I will get together with all the groups and we will have something that is acceptable.”
At the time, he said he would not sign a federal abortion ban at 15 weeks.
However, in recent months, Trump has moved toward a federal abortion ban, despite some of his statements contradicting his campaign. after reports surfaced told allies he was considering federal abortion 16 week ban, his campaign dismissed it as “fake news.” Soon after, Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham told NBC News that “Trump is warming up to 16 weeks.” And then Trump himself in an interview He suggested he would support a 15-week ban.
The prospect of the top of the GOP ticket supporting a federal abortion ban could put swing-state Republicans in a box of tricks after some cases, with Democrats making the issue a central point of attack. they tried to be gentle positions. However, statements from the Trump campaign focused on states’ rights, not a federal ban.
“President Trump has made it clear that he supports the protection of life, but he also supports states’ rights because he supports the right of voters to decide for themselves,” said Brian Hughes, Trump’s senior adviser. He added: “President Trump thinks the voters should have the last word.”
After offering little clarification, at a campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Mich., this week, Trump said his campaign would “make a statement next week on abortion” after being asked if he supported Florida’s six-week abortion ban. Supreme Court just saved.
President Joe Biden’s campaign has criticized Trump’s various statements on abortion, particularly Roe v. He took over his bragging about having a hand in taking Wade down.
“Donald Trump does not trust women” Biden says in a new ad. “I do.”