- Donald Trump has told allies that overturning Roe v Wade could cost him politically, per Rolling Stone.
- The issue of abortion could turn "suburban women" against him, Trump fears, the media outlet said.
- The former president is concerned it could hurt him in 2024, should he decide to run, Rolling Stone reported.
Former President Donald Trump is telling his close allies that the potential overturning of Roe v Wade could cost him politically, hurting his chances of winning reelection should he run again in 2024, according to Rolling Stone.
Citing sources familiar with the matter, Rolling Stone reported that Trump has been telling allies that the issue of abortion could turn "suburban women" against him.
"Suburban women have been a recurring concern for [former] President Trump, including during the 2020 campaign, when his smarter advisers were sounding the alarm to him about how he was losing suburbs," a source said, per Rolling Stone.
"He is … worried women in the suburbs could punish him for this one day, [too]," the source continued.
Since a draft opinion to overturn Roe v Wade was leaked, Trump has been uncharacteristically quiet about it. He has not referenced it on Truth Social and has only once alluded to it once during a rally, Rolling Stone reported. Two sources told the media outlet that the silence is "intentional and calculated."
Trump has reportedly been telling allies that suburban women don't like hearing about the issue as they are typically more pro-choice than the mainstream of the Republican Party, according to Rolling Stone.
He has told several associates that his enemies could "use it against him" in 2024 if he went too hard now on pushing for the overturning of Roe v Wade, the media outlet said.
"'Suburban women — some who voted for me — they don't like it when we talk about it," Trump reportedly said at a small gathering this month, a source told Rolling Stone.
Trump once described himself as pro-choice. Speaking to NBC in 1999, he declared: "I'm very pro-choice."
His position changed by the time he became president. In 2016, he promised to select judges for the Supreme Court who would "automatically" overturn Roe v Wade. Three of his appointees — Justices Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, and Neil Gorsuch — have reportedly agreed to the draft opinion.
Trump's post-presidency office did not respond to Insider's request for comment on Saturday morning.