Donald Trump on Monday abandoned his stance on domestic abortion restrictions, betting that the move would be his best chance to neutralize Democrats` hottest issue and keep a rematch with President Biden’s focus on immigration and the economy.
Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, laid out his long-awaited stance on abortion policy in a video released by the campaign. The GOP has repeatedly lost on the abortion issue in the polls since the 2022 Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v.
“I don’t know that anything is going to distract from the issue of abortion because of some extremely restrictive bills,” said Republican consultant Whit Ayres, who called Trump’s politics smart.
The question of whether Trump would support a nationwide abortion ban has received more attention since he recently suggested supporting a ban at 15 or 16 weeks.
ALSO READ: Trump Condemns Arizona Near-Total Abortion Ban Ruling, Says It Has Gone Too Far
Before running for president in 2016, Trump supported widespread access to abortion before adopting a more conservative position. Biden picked up on Trump’s comments Monday, saying his predecessor was responsible for creating the cruelty and chaos that has gripped America since the Dobbs decision.
After the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe, Biden and Democrats turned abortion rights into a rallying cry, and voters opposed restrictions in many off-year elections. Abortion is one of the few bright spots for Democrats, with Trump leading Biden in many national polls and swing states.
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Democrats argued that Trump could still sign a national abortion ban as president, while Biden said that if Republicans sent him a ban, ‘‘Trump would sign it into law. For example, Trump could choose as president to enforce the Comstock Act, an obscure 1873 law that could be used to ban mailings of abortion pills and more.
Amanda Zurawski, who has challenged the state`s abortion restrictions, sobbed before the screen turned black and the words ‘‘Donald Trump did this‘‘ appeared.
Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, expressed disappointment Monday with Trump’s stance, saying he has ceded the national debate on abortion to the Democratic Party.
Abortion is not a states’ rights issue, she said. Some advisers close to Trump said they believe such criticism will help the former president attract more moderate voters.
ALSO READ: Trump Angers Conservatives With Abortion Statement, Gives Biden a New Target
Other Republicans, including former Vice President Mike Pence, who helped Trump defeat social conservatives, are also unhappy. spoke about the president on his social media platform.
“I blame Lindsey Graham because the only reason he won the Great State of South Carolina is because I supported him!
However, failure to commit to a national ban is unlikely to cost Trump the anti-abortion movement, which credits him with helping overturn Roe v. Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life USA, said she thinks Democrats will use Trump’s chosen line to portray him as an extremist.
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