Donald Trump is not known for being quick-mouthed. It is all the more noticeable that the ex-president prefers to avoid the topic of abortion. During the election campaign, he is now sending a warning to his own party.
Abortion is a hot topic in the USA. Since the Supreme Court overturned the right to abortion about a year ago, a bitter battle has raged between those who support the right to abortion (“Pro Choice”) and those who are against it (“Pro Life”). A division that As with so many issues in the United States, it runs along party lines.
It is all the more striking that the man who is largely responsible for it is silent in the debate: Donald Trump.
While the Republican supported abortion rights before his first presidential candidacy, as president he appointed three conservative judges to the Supreme Court who overturned the crucial landmark ruling. The right to abortion, which had existed for almost 50 years, was history, the way was clear for a revival as an election campaign issue. An issue that cost conservatives critical votes in the 2022 midterm elections. And one that Democrats want to make even bigger with an eye on the 2024 elections.
Trump, on the other hand, who is not exactly known for being tight-lipped, has avoided any question about abortion since announcing his candidacy. When he was once again asked to take a stand in a sensational TV interview, he sent a clear warning to his own party.
Donald Trump on abortion rights: “You will not win on this issue”
When asked about his position in the polarizing abortion debate, the ex-president initially danced around as usual as a guest on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday. Instead of committing to a standard number of weeks after which abortion would be illegal, Trump emphasized his interest in acting as a “mediator” between “both sides” and reaching an agreement. “I think they will all like me,” said the 77-year-old. “I think both sides will like me.”
“We will agree on a number of weeks or months, or however you want to define it,” Trump said. “And both sides – and this is a big statement – both sides will come together. And for the first time in 52 years we will be able to put this issue behind us.” When TV presenter Kristen Welker asked him whether such an agreement would take place at the state or federal level, Trump again evaded: “It could happen at the state level or at the federal level,” he answered vaguely. “I frankly don’t care.”
At the same time, he criticized members of his own party for “speaking very inarticulately about this issue.” “I see some of them without the exceptions, etc., etc.,” he said, referring to those who do not support exceptions for abortion in cases of rape and incest. Like his top rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Asked whether he had gone too far by signing a six-week abortion ban, Trump replied: “I think what he did is a terrible thing and a terrible mistake.” He was even more explicit about the Republican campaign: “I said, ‘Except in certain parts of the country, you can’t – you’re not going to win on this issue.'”
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Where Pence, DeSantis and Co. stand on the abortion issue
Trump’s comments make clear the challenge facing Republican presidential candidates on the abortion issue. On the one hand, the conservative base still celebrates the overturning of the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling as an important victory in a decades-long struggle. On the other side is the general electorate, which supports abortion rights to some extent. The “Grand Old Party” depends on both to recapture the White House – a difficult balancing act for the conservatives.
It is therefore striking that no Republican candidate positions himself as clearly in the debate as former Vice President Mike Pence. “Donald Trump is moving further and further away from the pro-life legacy of our government,” said Pence, who supports a federal ban on abortion after 15 weeks, criticizing his former boss’s statements. “There is no negotiation when the lives of the unborn are at stake. We will not rest, we will not relent, until the sanctity of life is returned to the center of American law in every state.”
Florida Governor DeSantis and political newcomer Vivek Ramaswamy are also considered hardliners on the abortion issue. “I have been a pro-life governor. I will be a pro-life president,” DeSantis said. Although both – like Trump – sidestep questions about a national ban, they are in favor of strict six-week bans at the state level.
Other candidates, such as former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley and former Governor of New Jersey Chris Christie, are pursuing more moderate approaches and warning of political backlash from stricter abortion laws. Haley, who describes herself as “unapologetically pro-life,” warned her party that “everyone would run away from us” in pursuing a 15-week federal ban. Republicans and Democrats must find a consensus in the abortion debate, emphasized Christie.
Abortion rights divide Republicans and Democrats
In contrast to the Republicans, abortion rights have turned out to be a successful election campaign issue for the Democrats. While the Supreme Court ruling led to stricter abortion laws in 14 Republican-controlled states, it also led to a wave of angry protests from pro-choice advocates. An anger that US President Joe Biden’s party was able to use to its advantage in the congressional elections last fall. Since then, voters across the country have rejected a series of referendums that would have eased barriers to stricter abortion laws – some in deeply Republican states.
The trend gives Democrats hope. It’s no secret that the party will carry abortion rights as one of its top issues in the 2024 election campaign. Biden repeatedly criticizes the positions of the Republicans in election commercials as “extreme” and “anti-human.” And the president makes no secret of hiding who he believes is responsible for the current situation. “This ad reminds voters in states that have enacted some of the most extreme abortion bans of Trump’s key role in appointing conservative judges who voted to overturn Roe v. Wade,” Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez told CNN. to the point.
Trump is probably right about one thing. Republicans will not win on abortion.
Sources: “”, “, “”, “”, “”, with AP material
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
