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Donald Trump’s openness to supporting a 15-week abortion ban seems destined to cause a political headache for Republicans this fall, if not derail the GOP’s electoral hopes entirely. And we can look to the very recent past for such an example.
On Tuesday, the former president told right-wing radio host Sid Rosenberg that conservatives are coalescing around a national ban at 15 weeks, which could have disastrous — even fatal — consequences for pregnant people.
Trump said he’d make an official announcement “at the appropriate time,” but it was very clear from his remarks on New York’s WABC talk radio that he was signaling support for a 15-week ban, with exceptions in cases of rape, incest or when the life of the mother is endangered:
The number of weeks now, people are agreeing on 15, and I’m thinking in terms of that, and it’ll come out to something that’s very reasonable. But people are really — even hard-liners are agreeing — seems to be 15 weeks, seems to be a number that people are agreeing at.
What could possibly go wrong? Politically, quite a bit.
Trump seems to be adopting a strategy that Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin deployed unsuccessfully last year during his state’s legislative elections. Youngkin got several GOP candidates to support a 15-week abortion ban, thinking such a ban would serve as a consensus option that Virginia voters would find reasonable.
But he was wrong. Very wrong.
When all was said and done, Virginia Democrats held the state Senate and flipped the House of Delegates in their favor, dashing Youngkin’s hopes of imposing a decidedly conservative agenda. And with their anti-abortion extremism, Republicans may be headed toward a similar scenario at the national level.
After Youngkin’s endorsees took a bath, The 19th’s Mel Leonor Barclay and Shefali Luthra warned about this possibility:
Republicans’ stunning flop in Virginia suggests that even a 15-week ban — compared with the total bans many GOP-run states have adopted — may turn off a broad coalition of voters who are wary of government restrictions on the procedure. Heading into 2024, coalescing around abortion restrictions at that point in pregnancy may not insulate the party from an issue that has become its Achilles heel.
Trump has wedded himself to ultraconservative white evangelicals who staunchly oppose abortion access — and have for decades. And this is one (extremely cruel and draconian) way of satisfying those MAGA loyalists. That said, his seeming embrace of a 15-week abortion ban has all the markings of a hubristic man who believes himself to be a consummate deal-maker.
Ever since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade two years ago, efforts to restrict abortion access have cost Republicans in crucial elections across the country. Trump is now increasing the odds that we’ll be able to add his presidential bid to the list. Just ask Glenn Youngkin.