Donald Trump danced across the matter of reproductive rights in a brand new interview, saying that hard-line Republican calls for on the problem are a shedding technique and falsely accusing Democrats of being in favor of abortions “after beginning.”
The previous president tried to distance himself from the GOP’s most vehement opponents of abortion throughout a wide-ranging interview on this week’s episode of “Meet the Press,” the place he mentioned the thought of a federal abortion ban with “no exceptions” is unrealistic and unpopular.
“I feel the Republicans communicate very inarticulately about this topic,” Trump informed NBC’s Kristen Welker within the section, which aired Sunday. “I watch a few of them with out the exceptions, et cetera, et cetera.”
“Aside from sure components of the nation, you’ll be able to’t — you’re not going to win on this subject,” he mentioned. “However you’ll win on this subject once you give you the proper variety of weeks.”
Trump didn’t recommend a particular quantity, and repeatedly accused Democrats of supporting abortions properly into the third trimester of being pregnant and even “after beginning.”
In actuality, late-term abortions are exceedingly uncommon. In line with 2019 information from the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention, fewer than 1% of abortions occur after the 21-week mark.
Though Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis falsely claimed in July that “some liberal states even have post-birth abortions,” researcher Dr. Katherine White debunked his declare with Politifact, telling the positioning there may be “no such factor as a post-birth abortion.”
When Welker requested Trump whether or not the problem needs to be determined on the federal or the state stage, Trump mentioned: “It might be state, or it might be federal. I don’t frankly care.”
ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS through Getty Pictures
Trump appeared to recommend he may assist Republicans and Democrats dealer an settlement, telling Welker: “We’re going to comply with a lot of weeks or months or nonetheless you wish to outline it.”
“Either side are going to come back collectively and each side — each side, and it is a large assertion — each side will come collectively,” he mentioned. “And for the primary time in 52 years, you’ll have a difficulty that we are able to put behind us.”
Trump additionally mentioned his Republican presidential major opponents and their strategy to reproductive rights. He mentioned DeSantis’ six-week abortion ban in Florida is “a horrible factor and a horrible mistake,” and claimed that he’d swayed former Vice President Mike Pence to melt his “no exceptions” stance on the problem.
Because the Supreme Courtroom overturned Roe v. Wade final 12 months, ending federal protections for abortion, Republicans have been making an attempt to deal with how they need to deal with the problem electorally in a post-Roe world.
In April, Trump was chastised by the Susan B. Anthony Checklist, a bunch that opposes abortion rights, for suggesting the problem needs to be determined on the state stage, a place that the group referred to as “morally indefensible.”
Trump responded by taking credit score for the Supreme Courtroom’s determination in final 12 months’s landmark Dobbs v. Jackson case.
“Republicans have been making an attempt to get this accomplished for 50 years, however had been unable to take action,” marketing campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung informed the New York Submit. “President Trump, who is taken into account probably the most pro-life President in historical past, bought it accomplished.”
Watch Trump’s full interview on “Meet the Press” and browse the transcript right here.
