Opinion: Trump’s shift to the center is shockingly obvious

Editor’s note: Jill Filipovic is a New York-based journalist.OK, Baby Boomers, Let’s Talk: Why My Generation Was Left BehindFollow her twitterAll opinions expressed in this commentary are her own. Further comments On CNN.

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Former President Donald Trump wants to retake the White House, and that means softening the Republican Party’s stance on abortion rights. Even if he and the Republican Party have no intention of actually doing so. Trump’s apparent centrist leanings were made clear on Monday, when the Republican National Committee’s platform committee approved a draft bill that included language that appeared to soften the GOP’s positions on abortion and same-sex marriage.

Trump seems to recognize that abortion and other reproductive rights issues are his and his party’s greatest weaknesses, due in part to their incredible overreach. Trump appointed three conservative justices to the U.S. Supreme Court, all of whom helped overturn Roe v. Wade and end abortion rights in the U.S., a decision that was disastrous in many ways. Especially for women in Republican-controlled states who continue to suffer the consequences.

A majority of Americans support abortion rights, leaving many voters outraged and motivated.

This is a big issue for Republicans, but many in the anti-abortion movement still reject it and want more bans and stricter regulations. As a result, abortion is currently banned in over a dozen states in the US, and many of these states are engaged in legal battles over whether to maintain their strict laws or enact new ones. Two laws were decided (or actually postponed) by the Supreme Court this year. Republicans seem to want the best of both worlds: a strict and highly unpopular abortion ban that their base values, and no political price for an unpopular policy that many other states in the country reject.

The 2024 Republican Party platform has yet to be released, but some reports suggest it will be a document that does little more than pledge allegiance to Trump and his MAGA agenda, which means a lot of vague hand-waving. Trump has never been a politician who dwells on policy details, and he has only touched on a few issues (crime, economy, and immigration are his specialties). He has boasted about his role in overturning Roe, but doesn’t want to take responsibility for the backlash. So his strategy seems to be to write a platform that tones down abortion extremism.

The draft platform suggests that abortion is an issue that should be left to individual states, does not mention a nationwide ban on abortion as previous platforms had done, and, according to The New York Times, claims that the party will support “access to contraception and in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments” — certainly a more moderate stance than Republicans have taken in the past.

That also seems like a lie.

The truth is, Republicans have already had the opportunity to do all of these things. They haven’t. If the plan is to leave abortion up to the states, why did Republicans push for a nationwide ban in Congress? Why has Trump indicated he would support a nationwide 15-week ban? Why did Republicans support legislation that would not only ban abortion from day one, but potentially extend it to IVF and many forms of birth control as well?

Why did Senate Republicans refuse to vote to protect access to contraception? Why did Senate Republicans block a vote to protect IVF? Why did anti-abortion groups try to ban abortion pills, and why did so many Republicans not only support them, but take responsibility for warning pharmacies that sell abortion pills? Why don’t Republicans want to repeal Victorian-era laws that could criminalize abortion pills and even contraception?

Maybe the answer is that Republicans don’t actually intend to take a moderate stance on abortion; they’re just increasingly realizing that to stay in power they need to say the right things.

Trump has rarely shown any interest in abortion rights one way or another and has shifted his stance on the issue throughout his public life, saying in 1999 that he was “pro-abortion in every way” despite his personal aversion to abortion.

Since the 2016 election, he seems to be saying whatever he thinks Republican voters want to hear. He has supported a nationwide 20-week birth control ban and promised to appoint pro-life judges who he thinks will overturn Roe. Earlier this year, he said a 15-week nationwide birth control ban was very reasonable, but now he doesn’t seem to want to discuss it.

Trump also appears to want to distance himself from Project 2025, a plan created by the conservative Heritage Foundation that seeks to overhaul the federal government to better support conservative policies if Trump returns to the White House.

“I have no idea who’s behind it,” Trump said on Truth Social about Project 2025. “I don’t agree with some of the things they’re saying, and some of the things they’re saying are totally ridiculous and disgusting. I wish them the best of luck with whatever they do, but I have nothing to do with them.”

Trump seems to have realized that if he wants to stay in power, he has to say the right things, whether he actually does them or not. He has proven himself to be neither honest nor trustworthy, so we should assume that what he says to win the election will have little to no impact on what he will actually do in office.

The anti-abortion movement seems to understand this better than anyone. Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life USA, told The New York Times that the pro-life movement’s mission for the next six months will be to defeat the Biden-Harris extreme abortion agenda. She seems to understand that from that point on, Trump can do whatever he wants. It also includes calls for radical anti-abortion activism.

The anti-abortion strategy is clear: claim to be moderate while continuing to push for extremely unpopular and extreme policies. Voters have a choice: they can believe what Donald Trump and the Republican Party say, or they can judge them by what they do.