It’s been about a month since The New York Times and NBC News reported that Donald Trump had privately told his team that he liked the idea of a new, 16-week national abortion ban that he would impose on states in a second term. His campaign issued a press release soon after, but it made no effort to deny the accuracy of the reporting.
It was against this backdrop that the former president sat down over the weekend with Fox News’ Howard Kurtz, who asked Trump whether he believes a 16-week national abortion ban “could be politically acceptable.” The presumptive GOP nominee replied, “So, we’re gonna find out.”
Trump on if a national 16 week abortion ban would be politically acceptable: "We're gonna find out."
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 17, 2024
He then lies about Democrats supporting the murder of born babies. pic.twitter.com/B5e41m9ftm
“Pretty soon, I’m gonna be making a decision. I would like to see if we could make both sides happy,” the Republican added.
Trump went on to boast about his role in ending the Roe v. Wade precedent and sending the matter “back to the states,” before concluding that Democrats support abortion “even after birth.”
So, a few things.
First, Trump and his party did not, strictly speaking, send the matter “back to the states.” Under the Dobbs ruling from Republican-appointed Supreme Court justices, Congress could approve and impose a federal abortion ban, which is precisely why the candidate’s position on the issue remains highly relevant.
Second, there’s no such thing as abortion “even after birth” — I believe that’s better known as “murder” — and literally zero Democratic officials have endorsed such an absurdity.
And third, what makes Trump’s rhetoric so notable is that he genuinely seems to believe that he might be able to come up with a national abortion ban that satisfies both opponents and proponents of reproductive rights.
He’s mistaken. This issue has been contentious for so long because a grand compromise isn’t possible.
Trump doesn’t seem to understand this, and this confusion has led him to believe he can and should pursue an abortion ban at the federal level. Remember, Kurtz asked the former president whether he believes a 16-week national abortion ban “could be politically acceptable.” Trump didn’t challenge the premise of the question; he instead said, “So, we’re gonna find out.” All of this came roughly three weeks after Trump told Fox News he hasn’t yet settled on a set number of weeks after which abortion should be banned, though the candidate added, “More and more I’m hearing about 15 weeks.” (He didn’t say from whom he’d heard the figure.) While it’s true that Trump hasn’t explicitly presented a detailed plan, his on-air comments leave little doubt that he’s pondering how to advance a national abortion ban, not whether to advance a national abortion ban. The Republican’s rhetoric could be clearer, but for those concerned about the future of reproductive rights, there’s no real ambiguity here: If given the opportunity, Trump would pursue a national abortion ban. This post updates our related earlier coverage.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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