Trump criticizes Republicans pushing abortion bans with no exceptions: 'You're not going to win'

NBC News ^ | Sept. 16, 2023, 10:03 AM EDT | By Allan Smith

[Behind Liberal Lines]

Trump said members of his own party "speak very inarticulately about this subject.

"I watch some of them without the exceptions, et cetera, et cetera," he said, referring to conservatives who don't support abortion exceptions in cases including abortion and rape. "I said, 'Other than certain parts of the country, you can’t — you’re not going to win on this issue. But you will win on this issue when you come up with the right number of weeks."

"Because Democrats don’t want to be radical on the issue, most of them, some do," he continued. "They don’t want to be radical on the issue. They don’t want to kill a baby in the seventh month or the ninth month or after birth. And they’re allowed to do that, and you can’t do that."

In his interview, Trump said "people are starting to think of 15 weeks" as "a number that people are talking about right now" in terms of a federal abortion ban, but said he wouldn't sign such legislation as president.

"No, no," he replied.

He went on to call a six-week ban signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, one of his rivals, "a terrible thing and a terrible mistake."

Trump claimed "the most powerful people that are anti-abortion are okay with" not having a complete and total ban.

[Bratch]

National Pro-Life Organization Turns Against President Trump Because Delivering on Goal to Overturn Roe -v- Wade Wasn’t Good Enough

April 21, 2023 | Sundance | 366 Comments

If you ever wanted to know how influential billionaire donors and the professional grift is amid the pro-life movement, this is a case study in the insanity of it.

President Donald John Trump was the most pro-life President in U.S. history.  President Trump outlined the platform policy of returning the issue of abortion to the states, and constructed all political endeavors to deliver on that pledge.  President Trump was the first president to speak at the March for Life events in Washington DC and hold pro-life supporting events at the White House.

Additionally, President Trump appointed three conservative pro-life judges to the Supreme Court, with the intention of overturning the Roe -v- Wade decision and returning the issue of abortion to the states.  This was and is the conservative position, and the goal of the pro-life movement as it was articulated.   In 2022, in the Dobbs decision, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of overturning Roe -v- Wade and the abortion issue was successfully return to the states as promised.

Since entering politics, the position of candidate Trump and then President Trump has never changed.  It is the same federalist position he holds today as outlined by the Washington Post:

[…] “President Donald J. Trump believes that the Supreme Court, led by the three Justices which he supported, got it right when they ruled this is an issue that should be decided at the State level,” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement. “Republicans have been trying to get this done for 50 years, but were unable to do so. President Trump, who is considered the most pro-life President in history, got it done. He will continue these policies when reelected to the White House. Like President Reagan before him, President Trump supports exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother.” (more)

However, Lila Rose, President and Founder of the Live Action network, is now deriding President Trump because he does not support reinstituting federal control over the issue of abortion and campaigning on a non-federalist platform of a nationwide abortion ban.

[Tweet Link]

Apparently, Lila Rose is supporting Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who recently used the Supreme Court decision, ironically made possible by President Donald Trump, to construct a 6-week abortion ban law in Florida.  Oddly enough, a legislative outcome Ron DeSantis is also not promoting as part of his “book tour” and national stealth campaign.

Ms. Rose, in her official capacity as president of the Live Action organization appears to be influenced by the same billionaire donor class funding that supports the candidacy of Ron DeSantis.  Despite President Trump delivering the results of the pro-life movement, Mrs. Rose is now deriding the President who delivered the outcome of her advocacy, saying it -and he- was just not good enough.

Example – In January 2018, President Donald Trump spoke to pro-life supporters from the Rose Garden at the White House which was shown live on video at the 45h annual March for Life. President Trump’s speech marked the first time in the event’s history that a sitting president had addressed the crowd live via video feed.  Previous Republican presidents, including Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, spoke to the marchers by phone.

Trump Speaks To Pro-Life Supporters - Full Speech

Try to find a picture of Ron DeSantis attending the Washington DC March for Life event and you will not find one.  He never attended.   However, in the era of billionaire manipulation, fake political constructs to manufacture astroturf support, and political grift that flows as an outcome of the ‘trillions at stake’, even the pro-life movement will align in their financial best interests against the most pro-life president in U.S. history.

Sometimes you just end up shaking your head.

The love of money is the root of all evil, and even the unborn life is disregarded in the chase.

[Jane Long]

Thanks for this info!!

Very disappointing.

Et tu, Lila?

[aMorePerfectUnion]

Thanks for substantiating the hypocrisy of the pro-life movement in this regard.

[1Old Pro]

States rights. Done. Over. Move on.

Exactly, AND utilize what has worked so well for Liberals, incrementalism.

[Behind Liberal Lines]

You’re not wrong. Unfortunately Trump signaled in this interview that he’d be willing to enact a federal compromise with the Democrats, affectively, taking it from the states

[anton]

He’s only 100% correct. Its a disqualifying position to take for about 35% of the voters, many of whom are Republicans in that they will never vote for anyone who supports a no exception ban on abortion at any stage. While most of us on FR would not kill the unborn under any circumstance, it is not an effective position to take in a National election.

[Jim Noble]

WWJD?

Not run for President, for one thing.

[going hot]

Yeah, its a crappy job...but somebody has to do it.

[Jim Noble]

Trump took all the credit for the Supreme Court Ruling

As he should have.

I warned, over and over, that overturning Roe v. Wade would not ban one abortion - and so it has not.

It only opened the possibility for political action to reduce or ban abortions. And the pro-life community has proven exceedingly bad at political action.

[Jim Noble]

and a Republican agreeing to abortion to a certain date would be too high

Nonsense.

There is nothing like a Republican voter majority to ban abortions entirely.

[Jim Noble]

Trump has already lost the most conservative part of his base

And why not? Trump is not a conservative. He's a bit of a nationalist.

[NKP_Vet]

He’s against the heart-beat bill because DeSantis did it in Florida. He will criticize anything DeSantis does. Says he’s one of the worse GOP governors in the country. Why does Trump act like he’s losing to a man he’s 50:points ahead of?

https://catholicvote.org/trump-denounces-fl-pro-life-law-terrible-mistake/

[randita]

https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/4183078/posts

[aMorePerfectUnion]

Trump said that he would negotiate with Democrats on the issue. Explain how - if it’s a state’s rights issue - Trump would have any seat at the negotiation table. Does he not understand the definition of state’s rights?

Thank you for pointing out what you referred to.

I listened to the interview carefully.

The talking head woman did her best to try to trap Trump into a dramatic statement they could use in attack ads to rile up and motivate the demoncrat base.

Trump didn't take the bait.

They talked both about regulating abortion at the federal and state level.

They went back and forth about which level.

She did this to try to make him commit to something to use in an election.

Trump took the position of bringing the country together - persistently reiterated this.

I assume this was if the something were to happen at the federal regulation level.

And since blue states have already staked out their positions, any negotiation would occur at the federal level. Trump also made it clear he was more concerned about having a very reasonable abortion regulation that included exemptions as Reagan did, and limited to a number of weeks.

His message was that he would bring people together to agree on something.

And mysteriously referred to "something will happen."

I have no idea what that is.

I also think his statements are correct for a POTUS - they should lead and bring disparate groups together to get things done.

[Persevero]

Oh I’ll start there!! But I won’t end there. :)

[Persevero]

We have control over our own lives.

We don’t have total control of other people’s!

For example

We do not have the authority to murder our kids.

[Persevero]

It’s a crime everywhere at all times to murder an innocent person unless totally accidental.

[Behind Liberal Lines]

This is why he should have said he opposed any no exception ban, added it’s a state issue and then stopped talking.

[TianaHighrider]

Hmmm, popularity or murder babies?
Evil society.

[Boardwalk]

Ok so let’s just concede on the higher moral ground and hand it to the democrats. What do you think they will do with a mandate?