Donald Trump is a dangerous authoritarian who, as we’ve said on many an occasion, should never be allowed within 1,000 feet of the White House ever again. One of the many reasons for this is the fact that he‘s deeply antiabortion and played a crucial role in getting Roe v. Wade overturned. Yet, according to one powerful conservative political advocacy group, the ex-president and current presidential candidate is not antiabortion enough.
On Thursday, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America put out a blistering response to Trump’s statement to The Washington Post that states should decide abortion laws, as opposed to having a national ban. (The comment from Trump’s campaign came in the midst of an article about how the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, and Republican policies in general around abortion, hurt the party’s electoral performance in the midterms and is threatening to do the same in 2024.) “President Trump’s assertion that the Supreme Court returned the issue of abortion solely to the states is a completely inaccurate reading of the Dobbs decision and is a morally indefensible position for a self-proclaimed pro-life presidential candidate to hold,” said SBA Pro-Life America president Marjorie Dannenfelser. “Life is a matter of human rights, not states’ rights.… We will oppose any presidential candidate who refuses to embrace at a minimum a 15-week national standard to stop painful late-term abortions while allowing states to enact further protections.”
Since taking credit for the Supreme Court overturning Roe in 2022—credit that was very much due, given his nomination of three stridently antiabortion judges whom he installed on the Court for the specific purpose of repealing the landmark decision—Trump has been extremely muted on the matter of reproductive rights. Even he has apparently come to realize it’s a losing issue for Republicans.
As the Post notes, “Trump has barely spoken about the issue, telling advisers that he believes it is a difficult one for Republicans and not something he should focus his time on.” He also chose not to mention abortion in November when he kicked off his third run for office and, according to the outlet, “did not mention the issue at all in private meetings” at a RNC donor retreat in Nashville last weekend. (According to the Post, a polling memo, written by GOP strategist and longtime Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway, showing that 80% of voters disagreed with the Dobbs decision was distributed to attendees at the retreat.)
While Ron DeSantis, Trump’s would-be primary opponent, does not appear to have offered his take on a national abortion ban—SBA Pro-Life America’s stated prerequisite for 2024 support—the group is presumably pretty happy with the Florida governor. Last week, he signed a six-week abortion ban into law in Florida, precluding women from undergoing the medical procedure at a time when many people don’t even know they’re pregnant. Speaking to CNN, a GOP fundraiser close to the governor’s political operation predicted the move will be “great in primary” but “not good in general” election. “But you got to get to the general,” the person said.
For now, it seems likely that Trump will attempt to stay away from the issue and, if pressed, would presumably not try to go further to the right of DeSantis, not because he’s a reasonable person who believes in reproductive freedom, but because he appears to rightly understand that it would cost him votes. But, of course, one never knows with this guy who, once upon a time, was pro-choice.
Bess Levin
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