Former President Trump and his running mate Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) are seeking to soften their stance on abortion and blunt Democratic attacks in the final month before the election.
Trump on Tuesday, during the vice presidential debate, declared he would veto any national abortion ban legislation, after previously refusing to say whether he would do so.
“Everyone knows I would not support a federal abortion ban, under any circumstances, and would, in fact, veto it, because it is up to the states to decide based on the will of their voters (The will of the people!),” Trump wrote in an all caps post across social media platforms.
Trump during a Sept. 10 presidential debate with Vice President Harris refused multiple times to say whether he would veto a national abortion ban, arguing it was an unnecessary question.
“I’m not in favor of an abortion ban, but it doesn’t matter, because this issue has now been taken over by the states,” Trump said at that debate. “I wouldn’t have to.”
He even publicly rebutted Vance for previously saying that Trump “explicitly” told him he would veto an abortion ban bill if presented with one.
The latest pledge is part of a pattern for Trump, who is keenly aware of the political liabilities of taking a firm stance on abortion. Each time Trump has said or done something in alignment with the anti-abortion movement, he’s followed it up by muddying the waters.
Trump has tried to maintain an ambiguous position on abortion for fear of losing support from religious conservatives or losing ground among moderates who favor some abortion access.
For instance, he argued Florida’s ban on abortion after six weeks of pregnancy was too strict and said his administration would be “great for women and their reproductive rights.” But then he said he would vote “no” on a ballot measure that would overturn the Florida law and protect abortion access.
Trump’s newest message isn’t likely to sit well with leaders of the anti-abortion movement, who have at times expressed frustration at the former president’s approach, particularly his refusal to back a national ban.
Still, they acknowledge his key role in the movement for appointing the justices who ended Roe v. Wade, and see him as a better option that the alternative.
After the debate, Students for Life President Kristan Hawkins called for a “vibrant and vigorous” agenda from Trump that included cutting funding to Planned Parenthood and putting abortion opponents in key positions in federal agencies.
“We are taking President Trump at this word, that he wants to end federal engagement on abortion,” Hawkins told The Hill in a text message. “We’ve been asking for a New Deal with President Trump, in his new administration. And there is a lot of ground to cover to address all that the Biden-Harris team has done to force abortion into all of American life.”
But Patrick Brown, a fellow at the conservative Ethics and Public Policy Center, said anti-abortion advocates shouldn’t get their hopes up.
“He sees his deal that he struck with the pro-life movement in 2016 as having been fulfilled. … He got [Roe] overturned, and he’s ready to put the issue in the rear mirror,” Brown said.
“He fundamentally does not care about this issue, and we know that.”
In a statement to The Hill, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser indicated that the best hope for the anti-abortion movement was to defeat Harris and ensure Republicans control Congress.
“Our primary goal is to defeat them or see decades of life-saving progress wiped out by a nationwide all-trimester abortion mandate,” she said.
Trump’s latest announcement came as his running mate Vance was also signaling a softer approach on abortion during his debate against Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
“We’ve got to do so much better of a job at earning the American people’s trust back on this issue where they frankly just don’t trust us,” Vance said. “And I think that’s one of the things that Donald Trump and I are endeavoring to do. I want us, as a Republican Party, to be profamily in the fullest sense of the word.”
Vance also tried to distance himself from his past support of a law banning abortion after 15 weeks nationwide, claiming he backed “setting some minimum national standard,” rather than using the word “ban.”
Trump and Vance’s comments are the latest sign of the political liability facing Trump amid Democrats’ relentless attacks on the issue.
But abortion rights advocates are skeptical that the pair’s softened rhetoric will sway more women to vote Republican so close to the election.
“Watch what they do not what they say,” said Angela Vasquez-Giroux, vice president of communications at Planned Parenthood Votes. “Donald Trump has a record on reproductive rights, and he and his allies will only double down on their attacks if reelected.”
Vasquez-Giroux added that Trump and Vance’s comments are proof that they are trying to “save face” as Republicans’ stance on abortion becomes “increasingly politically toxic.”
“I’m not so sure that this late in the game it will sway people to vote for Trump,” said Jennifer Driver, senior director of reproductive rights at SiX Action. “I hope that people are able to see in this moment the disingenuous nature of JD Vance and Donald Trump.”