Donald Trump has posted this on Truth Social:
My Administration will be great for women and their reproductive rights.
If this tweet weren’t enough, his runninng-mate J. D. Vance says that Trump would veto a nation-wide abortion ban.
To Philip Klein, in a post with this title, this means that Trump’s Abandonment of Pro-Lifers Is Complete. Is he right? If so, what should pro-lifers do? The radically pro-abortion Kamala Harris is not an option. Should they call for a boycott of this election?
And consider this from Natan Ehrenreich:
If you consider the game from Trump’s point of view, embracing social leftism might be rational. This is because Trump knows that the leading voices of purported social conservatism would never abandon him. From his perspective, they have no leverage. And he’s right. By becoming unabashedly pro-choice, Trump plays to the center of the electorate without sacrificing his base, because there is nothing he could do to sacrifice his base.
Now consider an alternate reality in which socially conservative intellectual leaders cared more about their principles than about the cult of Trump. In this world, where they praise Trump when he does things they agree with and publicly shame him when he doesn’t, social conservatives have leverage over Trump, because their votes have to be earned. Would Trump have issued his endorsement of abortion in this world? I don’t think so.
But also consider: The Democrats want to “restore Roe v. Wade.” Abortion had been legalized and then overturned by court action, instead of passing a law. If the Democrats take the presidency, the House, and the Senate, they would push through legislation that would legalize abortion nation-wide, overturning the laws of pro-life states. Some Democrats think that is not enough, since Roe v. Wade at least allows for some protections after viability. They want abortion even after the baby would survive outside the womb. Doesn’t that mean that Trump, who would be unlikely to go this far, would be the lesser of two evils?
Then again, see what pro-life activist Lila Rose says about the “lesser of two evils” argument.
UPDATE: Now Trump has said that as a Florida resident, he would vote against that state’s referendum that would throw out its law forbidding abortion after six weeks. This, after previously implying that he would support it, saying that he thought the six-week was “too short.” So it appears that he is responding to pressure from pro-life voters after all. But is this gesture, which would still allow for abortion, enough?
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