Donald Trump confirmed that he is against a national ban on abortion and that he would not sign a law if he were re-elected as president because he already “broke” Roe v. Wade, while he refuses to clarify whether he identifies as pro-choice or pro-life. .
He told reporters at a press event with President Mike Johnson at Mar-a-Lago on Friday night that a national abortion ban is no longer necessary due to the Supreme Court’s June 2022 decision to overturn Roe. against Wade.
The president had previously said he would support a national ban on abortion, angering his right-wing and liberal supporters.
‘We don’t need it anymore because we broke Roe v. Wade and we did something no one thought was possible. We returned it to the federal states and in some cases the federal states are working very brilliantly,” he explained.
He told reporters at a press event with President Mike Johnson at Mar-a-Lago on Friday night that there is no longer a need for a national abortion ban.
But Trump refused to clarify whether he identifies as pro-choice or pro-life.
The president had previously said he would support a national ban on abortion, angering his right-wing and liberal supporters.
When pressed further by a reporter about whether he identifies as “pro-choice” or “pro-life,” Trump dismissed him.
“You know exactly what it is,” he replied. He then went on to compare himself to Ronald Reagan, because the two Republican leaders were once registered Democrats.
‘When I was in New York and when I was a Democrat, just like Ronald Reagan, you know. Ronald Reagan was a Democrat, we fall on a very similar path.”
He praised the Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, three of whom he named presidents.
Trump also accused Democrats of being “radical on this” because they are willing to abort up to birth.
‘That’s extreme and radical, and no one should have that. And it must be put to an end.’
Vice President Kamala Harris weighed in on Trump’s afternoon remarks during a trip to Arizona.
The Arizona Supreme Court ruled earlier this week that an 1864 law banning nearly all abortions could be enforced.
“Just a few minutes ago, standing next to President Johnson, Donald Trump just said that the statistics ban collection is working like it’s supposed to,” Harris said. “As much damage as he has already caused, a second Trump term would be even worse.”
He then criticized Republicans in Congress for wanting a national ban.
‘Trump wants us to believe he won’t sign a national ban. Enough of the gas lighting.
The former president posted a video earlier this week in which he asserted that abortion policy should be left to the states, finally revealing his stance on the controversial issue after mocking it for months.
Donald Trump said abortion policy should be left to the states as he finally revealed his stance after mocking it for months.
Donald Trump and former first lady Melania Trump visited billionaire investor John Paulson (left) and his wife and fiancee Alina de Almeida at their home in Palm Beach, Florida, on April 6.
He did not specify a time period in which he would or would not support abortion in the video of his long-awaited announcement posted on Truth Social.
Trump celebrated the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade in June 2022, sparking two years of debate over how abortion should now be handled at the state and federal level.
The 77-year-old also said in the four-and-a-half-minute video that he believed in exceptions to the right to terminate a pregnancy in cases of rape, incest and to save the mother’s life.
“We have abortions where everyone wanted it from a legal standpoint, the states will determine it by voting or legislation or maybe both, and whatever they decide should be the law of the land,” Trump said in the video.
He also accused Democrats of believing in “executing the baby after birth.”
Trump had previously suggested he would support a 15-week federal abortion ban.
Speaking last month on the Sid & Friends in the Morning radio show, Trump confirmed some reports that he was considering proposing policies that would implement a federal ban that would allow first-trimester abortions.
“Now people agree on the number of weeks, 15, and I’m thinking in terms of that, and the result will be something very reasonable,” Trump said in the interview.
“But people really agree, even the hardliners, it seems like 15 weeks, it seems to be a number that people agree on.” But I will make that announcement at the appropriate time.
Now, Trump dodged it by throwing the issue to the states.
The staunchest anti-abortion supporters are disappointed that Trump has not gone far enough in rolling out his policy after calling himself for years the most pro-life president in American history.
Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America says the group is “deeply disappointed” with Trump’s position and said handing the issue over to the states “cedes the national debate to Democrats.”
The group said it will “work tirelessly to defeat President Biden” in November.
Senator Lindsey Graham is one of Trump’s biggest allies in the US Senate, and even he says he disagrees with the former president’s stance on abortion.
“I respectfully disagree with President Trump’s statement that abortion is a states’ rights issue,” the South Carolina senator wrote in a lengthy X thread on Monday.
“The only logic of states’ rights today runs counter to an American consensus that would limit late-term abortions,” he said, asserting that the ruling would not “age” well.
Graham said: “The science is clear: a fifteen-week-old child is well developed and capable of feeling pain.”
But Trump campaign press secretary Karline Leavitt said handing it over to the states is a way to ensure the “will of the people” becomes law.
“He supports the rights of states to decide this issue,” Leavitt said in an interview with NewsMax following the announcement Monday morning.
“He wants people to have a voice,” he added. ‘He wants it to depend on the will of the people. And that’s exactly what prompted the Dobbs decision.
Matthew Getz, a senior fellow at the left-wing media watchdog Media Matters for America, said it would be interesting to see if Trump changed his stance if he received significant pushback from pro-life and evangelical supporters.
He wrote in Getz said.
President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign seized on the announcement, releasing a video in which Trump had previously said he favored “punishment” for women who have abortions.
In his policy launch video, Trump also addressed the recent controversy surrounding in vitro fertilization (IVF) and expressed support for the alternative method of conception.
IVF has been at the forefront after Alabama courts ruled that a fertilized egg is a life and raised concerns about the future of the procedure for couples struggling to conceive.
“The Republican Party must always stand on the side of the miracle of life and on the side of mothers, fathers and their beautiful babies,” Trump said. “IVF is an important part of that and our great Republican Party will always be with you in your pursuit of the greatest joy in life.”
Trump gives a thumbs up as he watches the 18th hole in the final round of the LIV Golf Miami tournament at his club in Doral, Florida, on Sunday, April 7.
After Roe v. Wade was overturned by the 6-3 conservative-majority Supreme Court in 2022, several states implemented some of the most restrictive abortion laws seen in decades.
Many credit Trump with paving the way for conservative rulings like this one (and several others in recent years) after he appointed three right-leaning justices to the Supreme Court in his only four-year term.
There were 15 states with so-called trigger laws, which were activated when Roe v. Wade was no longer the law of the land and they immediately essentially banned and criminalized abortion with a few exceptions.
Many of these states have recently implemented heartbeat bills, meaning women cannot receive and doctors cannot perform abortion services around 5 to 6 weeks into pregnancy, which is generally when you can. detect a heartbeat on an ultrasound.
Other states have passed laws allowing abortion within the first trimester of pregnancy, much like policies Trump was considering before announcing his opposition to a federal ban.