Former President Trump privately likes the idea of the 16-week abortion ban, reported Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan from the New York Times. The reporters wrote that they talked to people close to Trump and reportedly resolved the mystery of where he stands regarding abortions.
Why 16-week ban?
According to NYT reporters, Trump told one person, “Know what I like about 16? It’s even. It’s four months.” Trump reportedly asks potential Vice Presidents if they are “ok with abortion” and dismisses those who oppose “the three exceptions.”
Trump is staying away from the issue
Considering that numerous Republicans were blasted over their strict ideas of abortion, Trump is waiting for an official nomination to clarify his stance, the Times writes. Trump’s views often shift, and though he took credit for the overturn of Roe vs. Wade, he said in 1999, “I am pro-choice in every respect.”
Trying to please everyone
As the report from the Times noted, Trump would try to “satisfy” social conservatives and moderate Republicans as well as independent voters. The former president also reportedly supports some exceptions, including rape and incest. The third exception is likely if a woman’s life is in danger due to pregnancy.
Negotiating a deal
Karoline Leavitt, a Trump spokesperson, gave the Times a statement. However, she did not disclose anything other than what the former president said publicly, “As President Trump has stated, he would sit down with both sides and negotiate a deal that everyone will be happy with.”
The spokesperson repeated Trump’s false claims
Leavitt added that President Joe Biden and Democrats are “supporting radical on-demand abortion” beyond birth. During NBC’s Meet the Press, Trump said, “You have some states that are allowed to kill the child after birth, and you can’t allow that.” He continued, “Look, the Democrats are able to kill the baby after birth,” and went even further, “Even after birth, you’re allowed to terminate the baby.”
The election losses
Abortion played a significant part in the midterms, and many believe it was one of the reasons that the red wave from 2022 never happened. As the Times reported, “Republicans have struggled to find ways to talk about abortion now that they can no longer simply say they oppose it. “
What the surveys say
According to an AP/NORC poll from 2023, the majority of Americans oppose the 6-week ban, as well as the 24-week ban. Though one would think that a 15-week ban would be suitable for all sides, a slim majority disapprove of it, and among them, most are Republicans. Still, if the report is accurate, Trump’s 16-week ban could attract independent voters.
Conservative voters expressed their doubts
During a Fox News hall event, one ultra-conservative voter asked Trump to “reassure me” that he would protect “every person’s right to life, without compromise.” Instead, he said, “I love where you are coming from,” adding, “But we still have to win elections. And they have used this — you know, we have some great Republicans, and they are great on the issue, and you would love them on the issue. And a lot of them have just been decimated in the election.”
Trump and the Pro-Life America
In April 2023, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, one of the most prominent anti-abortion groups, said in a statement, “We will oppose any presidential candidate who refuses to embrace at a minimum a 15-week national standard to stop painful late-term abortions.”
The most pro-life president
Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America urged Trump last year to endorse a national abortion ban, claiming that Trump is in a “morally indefensible position for a self-proclaimed pro-life presidential candidate.”
Biden also shared his thoughts
President Biden said that Trump was “afraid the women of America are going to hold him responsible for taking away their rights and endangering their rights at the ballot box in November.”
Sitting on two chairs
In September, Trump called Florida’s ban on abortion after six weeks a “terrible thing.” DeSantis warned, ”I think if he’s going into this saying he’s going to make the Democrats happy with respect to the right to life, I think all pro-lifers should know that he’s preparing to sell you out.”
All GOP candidates were clear in their opposition to abortions
The Times reporters reminded that Trump wiggled his way out of the abortion, once again, during NBC’s Meet The Press last September. He said, “What’s going to happen is, you’re going to come up with a number of weeks or months,” adding, “You’re going to come up with a number that’s going to make people happy.” Read the full report in the Times.
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