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For half a century, the two parties were locked in mortal combat over the emotional and seemingly intractable issue of abortion.
Almost everyone believed that nothing would change. The Roe v. Wade decision seemed to guarantee that. And while the pro-life movement chipped away with restrictions, both sides could use strong rhetoric because the constitutional right appeared to be settled law.
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Then the Supreme Court overturned Roe, and pro-lifers celebrated at the issue being returned to the states. One man took credit for this dramatic development, and justifiably so: Donald Trump.
It was Trump who appointed three of the nine justices, all of them anti-abortion conservatives without whom Roe would still be the law of the land. He regularly reminded those on the right that after five decades of protests, he was the one who had gotten it done.
(Emily Elconin for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
But then things got messy. Red states such as Kansas voted in favor of preserving abortion rights, and the red wave expected in last year’s midterms dissipated in part because of the new abortion reality. Don’t take my word for it, that’s what the 45th president says.
On Sunday’s "Meet the Press," Trump cast himself as the man who can square the circle of this difficult issue.
He said he would "sit down with both sides and I’d negotiate something, and we’ll end up with peace on that issue for the first time in 52 years."
What’s more: "Both sides are going to like me. I’m going to come together with all groups, and we’re going to have something that’s acceptable."
This is not a knock on the former president to say there’s no way everyone on both sides is going to like him. Most activists and ideologues are dug in, either believing that abortion is murder or a woman’s right to choose is sacrosanct.
Now you may well argue that Trump taking credit for the SCOTUS Dobbs decision and floating an abortion compromise–he wouldn’t say what he’d sign as president – is contradictory.
The Supreme Court of the United States on Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
But the fact is that his political instincts are on target. Republicans who favor a complete ban – Trump has always supported exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother – are running headlong into a majority sentiment that some abortions should be allowed, with limits (for instance, barring late-term procedures).
Trump was fuzzy on the details, saying, "It could be state or it could be federal, I don’t frankly care." He has drawn flak from some pro-life groups.
But as a presidential candidate, he’s using his middle-ground stance to slam some of his rivals.
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Ron DeSantis quietly signed a six-week ban in Florida last spring, with exceptions, though he hasn’t talked about it much until recently. Critics say some women don’t even know they’re pregnant at that point.
Trump, invoking the governor, told NBC’s Kristen Welker: "I think what he did is a terrible thing and a terrible mistake."
The DeSantis campaign pushed back with a tweet: "He says it’s a ‘terrible thing’ babies with heartbeats are protected in Iowa, Florida and South Carolina," adding that the governor "will NEVER sell out conservatives to win praise from corporate media or the Left."
In an interview on Sunday’s "Media Buzz," Mike Pence told me that Trump is not a true conservative because he’s "trying to relegate the question of abortion to states only," when it should also include "the American people."
(Fox News)
The former vice president, who often speaks about his Christian faith, says he recognizes that "most of the progress for pro-lifers is going to happen in the states." Pence favors a national ban, but starting at 15 weeks of pregnancy, a stance he never would have entertained as VP. (Nikki Haley, for her part, says federal legislation is not practical, given the lack of consensus in Congress.)
It’s clear that all the Republican candidates are trying to finesse or dance around the abortion question, which has become a thorny one for their party.
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Trump’s prediction that he could magically solve the problem, much like his pledge to end the Ukraine war in 24 hours, is hardly realistic. But he is determined to avoid the quicksand of abortion politics while assailing the DeSantis law as too harsh.
Which approach works better with Republican voters–and in a general election–remains a mystery right now.
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