Donald Trump complained Monday night at a rally in Indiana, Pennsylvania, that Democrats have continued to emphasize abortion rights, declaring that the issue is no longer relevant. Trump’s comments come as millions are grappling with severe abortion restrictions and deaths have been linked to those bans.
“Everything is wrong with our country and nothing’s right and all they talk about is abortion,” Trump ilamented to the crowd after expressing frustration that “the fake news keeps saying women don’t like me.” Trump was perhaps referencing a new national poll from NBC News that shows Trump faces a 21-point gap in support among women.
“The country is falling apart, we’re going to end up in World War III, and all they can talk about is abortion, that’s all they talk about, and it really no longer pertains because we’ve done something on abortion that nobody thought was possible.”
In June 2022, all three Supreme Court Justices nominated by Trump—Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett, and Brett Kavanaugh—voted with the Republican-nominated majority to overturn Roe v. Wade in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. The decision triggered multiple abortion bans and restrictions put in place by Republican-led state legislatures.
On Monday Trump praised “the three we put in”—along with Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, as well as Chief Justice John Roberts—as “brilliant” and praised their “courage” in overturning Roe.
Trump also characterized himself as a protector of women, despite his stance on abortion and his admitted past of sexual assault.
“I am your protector. I want to be your protector,” Trump said. “You will no longer be abandoned, lonely, or scared. You will no longer be in danger—you’re not going to be in danger any longer—you will no longer have anxiety from any of the problems our country has today, you will be protected, and I will be your protector.”
He concluded, “You will no longer be thinking about abortion.”
Trump’s comments come as his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, has been highlighting deaths connected to abortion bans. Harris visited Georgia on Friday and spoke about the deaths of Amber Nicole Thurman and Candi Miller, two Black women who lost their lives in 2022 due to Georgia’s strict laws.
“This is a health care crisis and Donald Trump is the architect of this crisis,” said Harris. “He is proud that women are dying? Proud that doctors and nurses could be thrown in prison for administering care? Proud that young women today have fewer rights than their mothers and grandmothers? How dare he.”
Thurman died after doctors declined to perform a procedure to clear fetal tissue from her uterus after she took an abortion pill. Miller died at home, fearful that her medical issues during pregnancy would not be treated as doctors feared prosecution under Georgia’s abortion law. Medical experts have said both deaths were preventable.
Despite Trump’s claim, abortion rights continue to be a major issue for voters ahead of the fall election.
Eleven states have abortion rights ballot measures up for a vote in November’s election, with 10 of those measures meant to protect abortion rights and one—in Nebraska—meant to further curtail rights.
Despite Trump’s insistence that “it doesn’t pertain,” voters have frequently told pollsters that abortion rights are among their top issues of concern. In an August New York Times/Siena poll of registered voters in the swing states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, abortion was ranked as the second most important issue—just below the economy and above immigration.
Here is one of the "women" Trump "protected" during his first term - by "locking her up" away from her family.
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