Kamala Harris has prompted Donald Trump to reconsider his stance on abortion, it has emerged. The former president suddenly embraced the practice in a surprise statement on social media.
“My administration will be great for women and their reproductive rights,” Trump declared in a recent post on his Truth Social platform.
Trump’s latest turn illustrates his wavering position on the crucial issue. The man who once called himself “the most pro-life president” has also been evasive, saying the issue should be decided at the state level.
But after the Democratic National Convention, Trump was privately “disturbed by Ms. Harris’s claims that a second Trump term would further jeopardize abortion rights,” the New York Times.
Trump was also irked by other speeches at the DNC that linked him to Project 2025, a conservative plan that promises to further restrict reproductive health measures, the Times reported.
Trump has long been reticent when it comes to the topic of abortion
After the Democratic National Convention, it was privately reported that the former president was “concerned about Ms. Harris’s claims that a second Trump term would further jeopardize abortion rights.”
After watching Harris’s speech accepting the nomination on August 23, Trump was so angry that he made a statement about ensuring reproductive rights for women in his future administration.
The statement, the New York Times was so openly pro-abortion that it “sounded like it could have come from the director of Planned Parenthood.”
When asked to comment on the astonishing turnaround, Trump spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told the New York Times that he has “long and consistently supported states’ rights to make decisions about abortion.”
She added that the presidential candidate “has made it very clear that he will not sign a federal ban when he gets back to the White House.”
But this is just the latest chapter in Trump’s long and complicated history with abortion, a topic he talks about constantly.
Trump was irked by other speeches at the DNC, several of which linked him to the controversial Project 2025
In 1999, Trump, then 53, told NBC’s Meet the Press that he was “very pro-abortion.”
In 2011, however, he changed his mind and told attendees at a conservative conference that he was “pro-life.”
When he first ran for president in 2016, he further reinforced his opposition to abortion, telling MSNBS host Chris Matthews that he would support punishing women who have abortions.
The former president realizes that abortion is an extremely difficult and sensitive subject.
The former president understands that abortion is an incredibly difficult and delicate issue
According to the New York TimesIn 2022, as the Supreme Court was poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, Trump told his allies that the move would “hurt his party.”
The Republicans’ disappointing performance in the midterm elections appears to confirm the former president’s prediction.
“Mr. Trump has privately emphasized to his advisers that he believes the abortion issue alone could destroy their chances of winning in November,” the New York Times reported.
As a result, Trump’s positions on reproductive rights have shifted dramatically in recent months, much to the chagrin of some social conservatives.
The former president has further distanced himself from the issue, reportedly ordering the party to moderate language on abortion at the Republican National Party Convention.
Erick Erickson, the founder of the conservative website RedState, told the New York Times: ‘It almost seems like improv politics to me.’ He continued: ‘There’s no real plan – he’s “Live at the Improv”, and that’s a problem.’
Trump further frustrated social conservatives by taking a more progressive stance on IVF (in vitro fertilization).
This week he said he would make the expensive procedure free for Americans, which New York Times noted that this “would be an initiative that would place him further to the left of many Democrats.”
The former president has further distanced himself from the issue, reportedly ordering the party to tone down language on abortion at the Republican National Convention.
Earlier this spring, Trump told advisers he was leaning toward supporting a nationwide ban on abortion through 16 weeks, with exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother, the New York Times.
However, he reportedly changed his mind after looking at some polls and has now said that abortion is something that should be decided at the state level.
However, the former president has repeatedly voiced his objections when states have been too harsh on the abortion issue.
On Friday, Trump announced he would vote no on the measure that would have maintained Florida’s six-week ban
He has condemned Florida’s six-week ban, calling it a “terrible mistake,” and during an interview with NBC on Thursday he added that women in Florida needed more time to decide whether or not they wanted an abortion.
This sparked outrage among some conservatives, including those at the National Review, which published an article titled “Trump Stabs Florida Pro-Lifers in the Front.”
In an attempt to clear up the situation, Mrs. Leavitt told the New York Times that the former president “simply reiterated that he thinks six weeks is too short.”
On Friday, Trump announced he would vote against the measure that would have maintained Florida’s six-week travel ban.
As the final weeks of the presidential campaign unfold and Trump tries to recoup some of the losses he has suffered since Harris took over from President Joe Biden, he faces a daunting challenge of winning over new voters while also satisfying his base.