The Biden campaign Tuesday went directly after former President Trump for his past comments and record on the issue of abortion, attacking the likely 2024 GOP nominee over an issue that could be decisive in next November’s election.
The Biden campaign, which has ramped up its attacks on Trump in recent days, was in part responding to a New York Times story headlined “Why Trump Seems Less Vulnerable on Abortion Than Other Republicans.” The story reported on how Trump has used “vagueness” on the issue to allow voters to “see what they want to see” in his views on abortion.
Trump has over the past year repeatedly dodged when asked whether he would sign a national abortion ban if reelected, and he has said he supports exceptions that allow abortion in cases of rape, incest and for the life of the mother.
But Trump has simultaneously said his appointment of three conservative Supreme Court justices paved the way for the end of Roe v. Wade and argued that he deserves credit for the overturning of the precedent that guaranteed abortion access for decades. During the 2016 campaign, Trump at one point suggested women who had abortions should be punished.
“There is no ‘vagueness’ or ‘middle ground of sorts’ about Donald Trump’s position on abortion,” Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said in a statement first provided to The Hill.
“Take his word for it: he was ‘proud’ to overturn Roe v. Wade; he’s advocated for ‘some form of punishment’ to women who seek reproductive care; and has promised to ‘lead the charge’ in getting a national abortion ban passed,” she continued. “We agree with Donald Trump on one thing: no one has done more to rip away women’s freedoms than he has. As the whole country saw last week, voters strongly reject that kind of extremism and they’ll do it again next November.”
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The Biden campaign called on the political press corps to “meet the moment and responsibly inform the electorate of what their lives might look like if the leading GOP candidate for president is allowed back in the White House.”
The campaign further argued that Trump’s Supreme Court justices helped pave the way for restrictive abortion policies that have been enacted in Florida, South Carolina, Georgia and other states.
Abortion is shaping up to be a pivotal issue heading into 2024. Democrats have performed well in state-wide referendums, special elections, gubernatorial races and in the 2022 midterms since the Supreme Court in June 2022 overturned Roe v. Wade, with abortion serving as a catalyst to turn out voters.