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Does Trump Really Have Any Policy on Abortion?

S.E. Cupp, Tribune Content Agency on

“Well, we’re looking at that and I’m going to have a policy on that very shortly. And I think it’s something that you’ll find interesting. And I’d see — it’s another issue that’s very interesting. But you will find it, I think, very smart. I think it’s a smart decision, but we’ll be releasing it very soon.”

If you squint, you can sort of see an answer in there — “we’re looking at that.” But the rest was, as usual, vagaries and dodges.

He followed that word salad with another go-to when trying — trying — to talk about abortion: “the states.”

“We are also, you know, things really do have a lot to do with the states. And some states are going to have different policies than others.”

Now, before you get too alarmed, relax — Trump changed his mind just a few hours later.

“I HAVE NEVER, AND WILL NEVER ADVOCATE IMPOSING RESTRICTIONS ON BIRTH CONTROL, or other contraceptives,” he screamed on Truth Social. “This is a Democrat fabricated lie…”

Never mind the fact that Trump himself hinted he might ban contraceptives, not Democrats; or the fact that he could have easily answered Delano’s question this way instead of rambling about some “very interesting” and “smart” mystery policy. The clarification only helped to illuminate how unsteady Trump is on this issue.

On one hand, he’s repeatedly taken credit for overturning Roe v. Wade, which allowed many states to ban or limit abortion access. On the other, he’s warned Republicans against removing exceptions. “Other than certain parts of the country, you’re not going to win on this issue.”

On one hand, he’s scolded other Republicans for proposing six-week bans, which he called “too harsh.” On the other, he’s taken credit for those same abortion bans: “Without me, there would be no six weeks, 10 weeks, 15 weeks, or whatever is finally agreed to.” He’s also refused to commit to a number of weeks after which he’d support a ban.

 

On one hand, he relegates the issue to one of state’s rights. On the other, when states like Arizona go ahead and exert their right — in this case by banning abortion — he criticized it.

He’s historically been schizophrenic on the issue, too, proclaiming in the late ’90s to be “pro-choice” and saying he’d support “partial-birth abortion,” and then flipping to become the self-anointed “most pro-life president ever.”

Whichever side of the issue voters are on — and inside the Republican Party there’s a broad spectrum — they certainly deserve to know where their candidate stands on it. He can barely articulate his position, let alone actual policies on what will be a defining issue of the 2024 election.

Perhaps one quote summed it up best. When asked if he’d sign an abortion ban, and how it would work, he replied, “It could be state, or it could be federal. I don’t frankly care.”

Maybe that’s the truest thing about his position.

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(S.E. Cupp is the host of "S.E. Cupp Unfiltered" on CNN.)

©2024 S.E. Cupp. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.


 

 

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