Biden campaign unveils abortion ad tied to Trump’s comments to Time

The Biden campaign on Thursday launched a seven-figure ad campaign focused on former President Trump’s recent comments to Time magazine in which he said states should decide whether to monitor women’s pregnancies or prosecute those who illegally get abortions.

The ad, titled “Prosecute,” was unveiled on the second anniversary of the leaked Supreme Court draft decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. The 60-second spot features reporting on Trump’s recent comments and testimony from Dr. Austin Dennard, an OB-GYN who shared how an abortion ban in Texas forced her to leave the state to get care.

“Two years ago, I became pregnant with a baby I desperately wanted. And I learned that the fetus would have a fatal condition and never survive,” Dennard said in the ad. “Because of the new laws in Texas, I had to flee my own state to receive treatment.”

“If Donald Trump is elected, that is the end of a woman’s right to choose,” she continued. “There will be no place to turn. We could lose our rights in every state, even the ones where abortion is currently legal. And that means every woman in every state is at risk.”

The ad will air in battleground states, including during the Kentucky Derby on Saturday and on ESPN, TNT, Bravo, FX, Freeform and Comedy Central, the Biden campaign said.

“Over the last two years, we’ve seen a health care crisis unfold for women because of what Donald Trump did as president,” Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said in a statement. “If he’s reelected, he’ll make things even worse.”

“Our campaign will continue to relentlessly remind voters every single day about the very real and horrifying stakes for women this November if Trump has his way,” she added.

Abortion is a major issue heading into the 2024 election and a significant vulnerability for Trump, who is leading President Biden in battleground state polling. 

Trump has been adamant that states should be left to decide their own abortion policies, either through legislation or through ballot measures. He has also attacked Democrats as being too “radical” on the issue.

In an interview with Time magazine published this week, Trump said it should be left up to individual states to decide whether to monitor women’s pregnancies or whether to prosecute those who illegally get an abortion. And he did not say whether he would veto a national abortion ban if one reached his desk, saying it would not be necessary because states were determining their own laws.

“States are deciding. And some people are unhappy because it’s too liberal a policy or too conservative a policy, but we’ve brought it back into the states, where it has to be,” he said Wednesday at a Wisconsin rally. “And over a period of time that works out. And it’s taken a lot of the controversy out, and it’s been a good thing.” 

“You have to go with your heart. You have to do what’s right. But you also have to get elected,” Trump added. “Because if you don’t get elected, a lot of bad things will happen beyond the abortion issue. A lot of very bad things will happen from taxes, to military to everything else. So it’s been very interesting to see the process.”