Donald Trump has finally weighed in with an official position on abortion heading into the 2024 election, and it’s probably going to surprise some people.
For at least a year, many Trump influencers have argued that a compromise on abortion is necessary to beat Joe Biden. Often framed as “taking the issue off the table,” they’ve claimed that state-level bans are bad electoral politics and that a 15 to 20-week national ban is the right position to offer middle-ground to independent voters.
I’ve always argued against that, for reasons I’ll get to momentarily, but I’m happy to say that Trump has taken the correct position.
RELATED: It’s Time for Republicans to Stop Being Cowards and Actually Win on Abortion
WATCH: Trump releases new statement on abortion policy, saying abortion restrictions should be left to states. Do you agree? pic.twitter.com/hCv13xgt1h
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) April 8, 2024
Is it frustrating that I got slammed by some very pro-Trump online personalities (with far more visibility) for taking that exact position immediately following Dobbs? Sure, it’s frustrating. I was told that saying it’s a state issue was going to cost Republicans the 2024 election and that I’m helping Biden because I dared to hold a consistent, principled viewpoint on abortion.
Not surprisingly, those same people are now proclaiming Trump’s statement as “brilliant.” It is what it is, and frankly, I don’t care. The right position is the right position, and I’m glad he took it.
Why is it the right position? There are multiple reasons. One, there was no actual federal compromise to be had. Democrats would never agree to anything but a total re-codification of Roe with protections for abortion until birth in states that want it. Pushing for a 15 to 20-week federal ban would have been taking the bait and provided a multitude of fodder for Biden and company to claim Republicans want to “ban” abortion.
Two, as a practical matter, I believe more lives are saved by having six-week bans in some states than a broad federal standard of 15 to 20 weeks (which again, would never be agreed to by Democrats anyway). The vast majority of abortions occur at 12 weeks or under, which makes those six-week bans very effective at limiting the total number of abortions compared to allowing most abortions to happen in all states.
Third, the long-term outlook is important, and if Republicans agree to a re-federalization of the abortion issue, it will be just a matter of time before Democrats gain enough votes to take out the filibuster and pass an “abortion rights” bill that undoes every victory since Dobbs. The GOP must stand strong on the position that it’s a state issue with compromises on that. Some states will keep abortion legal until birth, but that’s a fight that needs to be fought within that state.
Lastly, by saying it’s a state issue and won’t be touched federally, Democrats can no longer claim Republicans want to ban abortion at the federal level, which was going to be one of their main pushes going into November.
With all that said, don’t kid yourself. Trump is still going to be attacked over abortion, and Republicans better start winning hearts and minds instead of thinking there’s some magic position that eliminates the issue from the discussion. It’s not going away, and Democrats will shift their messaging, but again, the right position is the right position. Trump took it, and he gets credit for that.
