- Donald Trump tried to wash his hands politically of the abortion issue.
- Instead, the former president’s statement disappointed some allies and left key questions resolved.
- Days later, Trump also found out that punting abortion to the states isn’t a political panacea.
ANALYSIS – Former President Donald Trump can’t escape the issue of abortion rights.
Trump likely hoped that he could settle the issue with an over 4-minute-long video in which he said the future of abortion rights should be settled at the state level. Just days later, the Arizona state Supreme Court issued a ruling that provided a stark reminder that relegating the issue to the state level isn’t a political panacea.
On Wednesday, the former president told reporters that the Arizona court had gone too far in ruling that an 1864, pre-Civil War near-total ban on abortions could be enforced.
Fellow Republicans, regardless of whether they had supported the ban before, rushed to condemn the decision underlining the political ramifications of the moment.
"Yeah, they did," Trump said in response to whether the court had gone too far, "and I think it'll be straightened out and, as you know, it's all about state's rights and it will be straightened out."
Trump's shifting views on abortion have alienated some of his longtime allies. Marjorie Dannenfelser, the president of Susan B. Pro-Life America, a leading antiabortion group, and Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, expressed their disappointment that the former president would not back a nationwide abortion ban. In response, Trump torched them both on social media.
"Many Good Republicans lost Elections because of this Issue, and people like Lindsey Graham, that are unrelenting, are handing Democrats their dream of the House, Senate, and perhaps even the Presidency…," Trump wrote in response to Graham's disappointment.
The former president has left some tantalizing questions unaddressed.
On Wednesday, Trump answered one of these questions by definitively promising he would not sign a nationwide abortion ban if he were to become president and Congress managed to pass such legislation. It is still unclear how Trump himself will vote on the issue. As a Florida resident, he will have the opportunity to vote on an abortion rights ballot initiative this November.
President Joe Biden's campaign has quickly tied Trump to every development. They've pointed out repeatedly that the former president has bragged about his role in appointing the three US Supreme Court justices that proved to be the deciding factor in the landmark reversal of Roe v. Wade. Biden's campaign has also released multiple ads tied explicitly to the issue of abortion rights. Vice President Kamala Harris even visited an abortion clinic.
"Elect me," Biden told reporters at the White House in response to a question about the Arizona ruling. "I'm in the 20th century — 21st century, not back then. They weren't even a state."
After the Arizona ruling, Biden's campaign predicted that voters would hold the former president accountable.
"What's happening in Arizona is only possible because Donald Trump overturned Roe v. Wade — it's cruel and it's a direct threat to our health and freedoms," Jen Cox, Biden-Harris senior advisor for Arizona, said in a statement to Business Insider. "No one should discount the impact this has on women across our state and -- as we saw in 2022 -- Democrats, Independents, and Republicans are going to hold Trump accountable."
Politically, Biden has good reason to believe he's on solid ground.
Abortion rights groups have rattled off an unbroken string of victories at the state level in either beating back further restrictions or expanding abortion access. Multiple polls also show that voters strongly detest restrictions. A KFF poll taken last month found that 71% of voters want abortion to be legal in all or most cases. It should not go unnoticed that Biden, who, as a young senator, questioned Roe, is now strongly pushing reproductive rights as part of his reelection.
Still, putting abortion on the ballot will likely not be enough to save the president with a tepid approval rating. A Politico analysis found that when voters in five different states considered abortion rights, the decisive margin largely came from Republican voters who voted for other Republican candidates. Key battleground states, including Arizona and Nevada, may both have abortion rights directly on their respective ballots this November.
Trump isn't alone in his struggle. Republicans writ large haven't figured out a way to effectively address abortion since Roe's reversal. It doesn't help matters that many leaders, including the former president, previously backed tougher restrictions on abortion even if, for political reasons, they may now try to distance themselves from those comments.
As the former president pointed out, conservatives may have to weigh the future of additional abortion restrictions with the possibility of losing key races.
"You must follow your heart on this issue, but remember, you must also win elections to restore our culture and, in fact, to save our country, which is currently, and very sadly, a nation in decline," Trump said.