by Alexis Simendinger & Kristina Karisch | The Hill
Former President Trump was pummeled by conservatives and anti-abortion groups Monday when he announced he favors letting states handle abortion restrictions, but with exceptions some red states have rejected, and he warned that Republicans who criticize his stance are helping Democratic candidates.
Both parties say the emotional debate over abortion rights is energizing Democratic voters as well as some Republicans and independents, according to polls, and in close swing states, turnout will be everything.
President Biden pounced on Trump’s remarks Monday and his campaign posted an ad that showcases dangerous health impacts experienced by some women. “Let’s be clear: Trump and his allies won’t stop until abortion is banned nationwide,”Biden campaign manager Julie Chávez Rodriguez said in a statement.
The Hill: The former president’s federal abortion dodge draws fire from all sides.
Trump, known for saying the quiet parts about politics out loud, crafted an announcement that appeared to endorse the preferences of all states — not just those that enacted abortion bans. He emphasized that the debate since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade cost Republican candidates and could hurt his party’s chances this year. Trump repeated that he favors exceptions in cases of rape, incest or a pregnant woman’s health, a position generally favored by majorities of Americans.
The presumptive GOP presidential nominee, who waited until he captured sufficient delegates before testing his fence-straddling abortion plank, hopes that loyalists who otherwise back him will stay the course come November, writes The Hill’s Niall Stanage. Trump lost no time before blasting ally Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) for publicly challenging his position.
Many Good Republicans lost Elections because of this Issue, and people like Lindsey Graham, that are unrelenting, are handing Democrats their dream of the House, Senate, and perhaps even the Presidency,” Trump wrote on social media.
He took credit for putting a conservative majority on the high courtand said it is “now up to the states to do the right thing.” Trump later claimed he “won” against Democrats.
“My view is now that we have abortion where everybody wanted it from a legal standpoint, the states will determine by vote or legislation or perhaps both, and whatever they decide must be the law of the land. In this case, the law of the state,” Trump added via video.
Graham broke with the former president by saying he favors a national ban in states on abortion beyond 15 weeks of pregnancy. “I will continue to advocate that there should be a national minimum standard limiting abortion at fifteen weeks because the child is capable of feeling pain, with exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother,” the senator said.
Former Vice President Mike Pence, an abortion opponent who unsuccessfully challenged his former boss early in the GOP primaries, called Trump’s abortion platform a “slap in the face” to supporters (The Hill).
In Florida, supporters of an abortion-rights referendum in November are mobilizing and fundraising, hoping to gather the necessary 60 percent approval from voters in defiance of the conservative Legislature and Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who signed into law a ban on abortion that will drop from 15 weeks to six weeks of pregnancy next month. A coalition called Floridians Protecting Freedom spent millions to put the abortion question on the ballot this fall.
