The presumptive Republican presidential nominee responded to the development with the political certainty of a college freshman running for class president. And even after effectively blocking the GOP’s nomination, his bungling and blundering speak volumes about how quickly this sudden liability looms over the party’s 2024 hopes.
The Trump campaign initially issued a statement Monday saying, “President Trump supports pro-life, but because he supports voters’ right to decide for themselves, he also supports states’ rights.” It has been made clear,” he said.
While it’s nice to support the democratic process, which doesn’t necessarily come naturally to President Trump, this statement essentially says nothing about his own views on the issue at hand. And on Tuesday, when asked more specifically about Florida’s six-week stay-at-home order, President Trump played a familiar card: “I’ll tell you later.”
President Trump said, “Next week, I’m going to make a statement on abortion.”
Translation: I really don’t want to talk about this, but you need to understand your position.
It’s much like when President Trump spent the better part of five years promising a health care plan that was always on the horizon (often “in two weeks”). Let’s see if this plan proves difficult to realize.
It’s much easier to say, “Repeat Obamacare,” just as it’s much easier to say, “Repeat Obamacare,” than it is to submit your own plan and get torn apart. Roe vs. WadeRather than clarifying what restrictions should be set after that,
And Trump’s stalling was just the latest evidence of his marked uncertainty regarding the new paradigm on abortion rights.
- In April 2023, President Trump refused to address Florida’s six-week curfew. Instead, his campaign said it supports exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother, adding that these are “issues that should be decided at the state level.”
- The following week he made a completely vague promise. I think I can achieve it on some level, and it might be on a different level, but I’m going to do it. …I’ll resolve that. ”
- Leading anti-abortion groups quickly condemned President Trump’s comments that it was a national issue and “morally indefensible” and said the federal government’s 15-week pregnancy ban should be upheld. He quickly met with her and became open to running, even though there was no indication that she had taken any litmus positions. Neither Trump nor the group would elaborate.
- In September, President Trump called the six-week suspension “terrible” and an attack on DeSantis, then his primary opponent. But on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” President Trump reiterated both the deadline and state-versus-federal limits. “What’s going to happen is it’s going to take weeks and months. They’re going to come up with numbers that make people happy,” he said, adding, “It could be state, it could be federal. To be honest, I don’t care.”
- In January, a woman at a Fox News town hall implored President Trump not to “compromise” on abortion. Trump did not clarify his position, but said four times that Republicans needed to “win elections.” The implication is that Republicans shouldn’t become too extreme and alienate voters.
- According to the New York Times, President Trump told advisers in February that he preferred a 16-week federal abortion ban. One person said Trump liked the numbers not for reasons specific to the pregnancy process, but because they were “equal.” It’s been 4 months. ”
- In late February, President Trump gave a 15-week reprieve, but suggested it should be a national issue. “There’s been more talk of 15 weeks, but we haven’t decided yet,” he told Fox News’ Sean Hannity. “We also brought it back to the state where it belongs.”
- Trump again suggested a 15-week delay last month, but also hinted at the possibility of a federal ban, saying, “Maybe we can unite the country on this issue.” … 15 weeks seems to be the number that people agree on. However, we will make an announcement at the appropriate time. ”
All told, it’s been almost two years since the Supreme Court overturned the issue. egg. President Trump has been asked about his specific stance for the past year, but he has not made it clear. He continues to offer varying opinions on whether this should be a federal issue at all. And now he won’t even say whether he supports the state’s six-week stay-at-home order, which he called “terrible” less than seven months ago.
Of course, what’s really going on here is no secret. Mr. Trump is concerned about this issue. He has repeatedly suggested that Republicans will lose elections if they become too extreme.
“It was the ‘abortion issue’ that lost a large number of voters, and many Republicans, especially Republicans who firmly maintain that there are no exceptions even in cases of rape, incest, and the life of the mother, have insufficiently responded. “It was,” he posted. Truth Social in the wake of overwhelming Republican 2022 election results.
Trump clearly doesn’t want that to happen to him. But that doesn’t mean he can spend the next seven months on this issue. And the fact that he still doesn’t have a good, ready-made answer, a month after clinching the Republican nomination, suggests that there probably isn’t one.
