As Donald Trump left a Michigan campaign rally on Tuesday, a reporter asked him if he supported Florida's new six-week abortion ban. "We'll make a statement next week on abortion," the Republican candidate replied. The importance of what he will say cannot be overstated.
Like some sort of withering vampiric ghoul, Joe Biden and the Democrats' 2024 prospects are being kept alive with the blood of unborn children. It's all they have as we careen toward Nov. 5, 2024. No one's buying their "muh democracy" histrionics anymore, DEI (aka sexual deviance and anti-white racism) is in full retreat, and everyone's sick of being poor while watching illegal aliens enjoy luxe perks. Take abortion away from Democrats, and they've got nothing.
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And abortion has proven to be a powerful issue for the Dems. If you don't understand that the Dobbs decision was the great, big, blue breakwater that demolished the surging red wave in the 2022 midterms, you're lying to yourself. It's crucial that Trump defuse this issue so the Democrats can't profit from it in November.
In his statement, Trump needs to stick to the original premise: there is no language in the Constitution determining the legality of abortion, thus it is up to the individual states to regulate as they see fit. Since the Dobbs decision, some states have enshrined barbaric infanticide practices while others have chosen to protect the unborn. The process is playing out as it's supposed to, where the people decide what they want and regional differences are allowed to develop.
"The Roe v. Wade issue is an issue that we should win," Trump told Spectrum News on Tuesday. "It was sent back to the states. The states are going to really dominate, and I think that's what you're seeing. But I'm going to make a statement on that next week, and it'll be a very concise statement."
Trump's statement will also likely address whether there will be a federal abortion law that would overrule any state laws. Both sides are clamoring for the issue to be settled on a national level (setting aside whether such a law would withstand SCOTUS scrutiny). The former president gave some indication of where he stands on that issue two weeks ago.
“We’re going to come up with a time, and maybe we could bring the country together on that issue," Trump said in a call with the “Sid & Friends in the Morning” show on WABC on March 19. “The number of weeks now, people are agreeing on 15. And I’m thinking in terms of that. And it’ll come out to something that’s very reasonable. But people are really, even hard-liners are agreeing, seems to be, 15 weeks seems to be a number that people are agreeing at."
Then he reiterated his belief that the final decision belongs to the states: “Everybody agrees — you’ve heard this for years — all the legal scholars on both sides agree: It’s a state issue. It shouldn’t be a federal issue, it’s a state issue."
So unless something changes, Trump will likely announce his position on abortion as:
- It's a state issue.
- If we must have a federal law, let's cap abortion at 15 weeks.
- But it's still a state issue.
Speaking purely politically, such a statement is Trump's best road forward. A broad majority of Americans favor legal early-term abortion with a ban on the termination of more advanced pregnancies. Also, the war over abortion laws will rage long past November. A federal law of one sort or another will likely pass, and that will return to SCOTUS for another ruling. The court may ultimately kick it back to the states or else leave federal legislation intact, but either way, the issue will never be settled so long as we elect legislators who can change laws.
But Athena, you're saying, aren't you being a little mercenary? No, I'm not. If Trump loses in November, far more unborn babies will be killed than if he wins (not to mention, America will be over). I'm in the "save all the lives we can" camp, and without some breathing room for Republican voters who also support abortion, Trump might not win.
"It's going to be something that is very important," Trump told Spectrum News. "You know, you have to go with your heart, you have to go with your spirit, and it's going to be something that I don't think people would be overly surprised. But we also have to remember, we have to win elections, it's very important, you have to win elections. Otherwise, you go back to where you were. And I believe that the statement next week will be a very good one."
Let's live to fight another day. And let's always fight to win hearts and minds, so that mothers choose life no matter what the ever-changing laws say they can do.
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