Former President Donald Trump said Monday that abortion laws should be left to the states, many of which have enacted new restrictions since he appointed Supreme Court justices who voted to strike down federal protections for the procedure.
In a four-and-a-half-minute video posted to the social media platform Truth Social, Trump falsely claimed “we have abortion where everyone wanted it from a legal standpoint” in the wake of the 2022 Supreme Court decision on Dobbs. Majorities of Americans have consistently said in polls that they favor the Roe v. Wade protections that the court dismantled.
“My view is that now that we have abortion where everyone wanted it from a legal standpoint, the states are going to determine it by vote or legislation, or perhaps both, and whatever they decide should be the law of the land,” Trump said.
In doing so, he refused to take a position on the national ban promoted by some of his strongest allies, including Senator Lindsey Graham, Red Cross Committee member, and former White House aide Kellyanne Conway. In the past, Trump has hinted that he might adopt a national lockdown, citing a 15 or 16-week threshold as an agreed-upon position.
Trump did not say what he would do if he won the presidency and Congress sent him a national ban.
Over the last quarter-century, and even since he became a candidate for president in 2015, Trump has been all over the place on how to handle the abortion issue. Since the 2024 campaign began, he has offered few details about what policies he would support in the post-Roe v. Wade era should he win the White House.
Trump, who resides in Florida, did not clarify his position on the new six-week ban imposed by Florida. When his support for a nationwide ban is mocked, his words often appear to contradict official statements issued by his campaign.
Trump said he supports exceptions in cases of rape, incest and to protect the life of the mother, a position he reiterated in the video on Monday. But the president does not determine how states make their laws.
Trump has often boasted of being responsible for overturning Roe v. Wade, which dismantled reproductive rights protections. But he also blamed the issue for GOP losses in 2022, and said Republicans need to learn how to talk about abortion in a way that doesn't turn off potential voters.
Last year, after abortion protections were repealed, he made a vague pitch in an interview on NBC News' “Meet the Press” that he would be a voice for consensus on abortion — but he didn't specify how.
“Let me tell you what I'm going to do,” he said. “I will meet with all the groups and we will get something acceptable.”
He said at the time that he would not sign a federal ban on 15-week abortions.
But in recent months, Trump has moved toward a federal ban on abortion, even as some of his statements have contradicted his campaign. After reports surfaced that he told allies he was considering a federal ban on 16-week abortions, his campaign dismissed it as “fake news.” Shortly after, South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham told NBC News that “Trump is preparing for up to 16 weeks.” Trump himself then suggested in an interview that he would support a 15-week ban.
The prospect of the top GOP ticket supporting a federal abortion ban at a time when Democrats are raising the issue as a central point of attack could put Republicans in swing states in the trap box, after some have tried to soften their positions. However, Trump's campaign statements appear to lean toward states' rights rather than a federal ban.
“President Trump supports the preservation of life but has also made clear that he supports states’ rights because he supports the right of voters to make their own decisions,” Brian Hughes, a senior Trump adviser, said in a statement. He added: “President Trump believes that voters should have the final say.”
After offering a little clarity this week at a campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Trump said his campaign “will make a statement next week on abortion” after being asked if he supported Florida's six-week abortion ban. The Supreme Court just upheld.
President Joe Biden's campaign has seized on Trump's mixed statements on abortion, particularly his past boast that he had a hand in overturning Roe v. Wade.
“Donald Trump doesn't trust women,” Biden says in a new ad. “I do.”
