The word “lie” is loaded with meaning, so I hesitate to use it, even when talking about pathological liars. So let's just say that Donald Trump has recently made a string of astonishing false statements. For example, the crowd of 15,000 that gathered to welcome Mr. Trump:Detroit's Kamala Harris and Tim Walz were generated by AILike: Harris didn't identify as black until recently. Like: HarrisMeeting with President Vladimir PutinThree days before Russia invaded Ukraine.
However, Trump's biggest lie, or rather, his biggest “false statement,” was one he posted just the other day.Truth Social on Friday“My administration will be great for women and their reproductive rights.” There's no way he would say that with a straight face.
After all, in 2016, Trump campaigned on repealing Roe v. Wade.Promises to appoint “pro-life” judgesWho will overturn it? He kept his promise and selected Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett. And since the Supreme Court handed down its decision on July 24, 2022, he has repeatedlyDobbs v. Jackson Women's Health OrganizationTrump has claimed credit for the ruling, which overturned Roe.
Speaking to the Faith and Freedom Coalition on the anniversary of the Dobbs case, Trump called himself “the most pro-life president in history” and boasted, “We've put an end to Roe v. Wade.”Trump posted on Truth Social“After 50 years of failure, no one had even come close, and I was able to overturn Roe v. Wade, to the shock of everybody,” Trump said. And in a recent interview with CBS News, Trump claimed, “For 52 years, everybody wanted to overturn Roe, and I got it done,” adding, “No, I have no regrets.”
Politics may be celebrated as the “art of the possible,” but it is impossible for Trump to boast about overturning Roe v. Wade while simultaneously promising to protect women's reproductive rights. In particular, the Heritage Foundation's 900-page “Project 2025,” a blueprint for a second Trump administration, calls for removing the abortion drug mifepristone from the market and “A biblical and social science-based definition of marriage and familyMany interpret this as a code word for a nationwide ban on contraception, same-sex marriage and abortion.
Of course, it's no secret why Trump is so desperately trying to back down on the abortion issue: because he knows it would lose politically. Republicans should have learned that lesson in 2020 and 2022, when angry women voters turned out in unprecedented numbers to reject anti-abortion rights Republican candidates. They should have also learned that lesson after any one of several ballot measures in several states.
Since the Dobbs decision, seven states have put abortion rights measures on the ballot, starting with Republican-leaning Kansas, and all of them have won. Nationally, abortion has proven to be a major force driving voter registration and turnout.
And this year that will prove even more true.10 statesThe states of Florida, Maryland, Arizona, Montana, Nevada, Missouri, South Dakota, Colorado, New York, and Nebraska are asking voters whether to enshrine the right to abortion in their constitutions. This will be the first issue on the ballot in each state. The results of these votes alone could determine the winner of the presidential election and at least 18 House battlegrounds.
Donald Trump is trying hard to distance himself from his hardline anti-abortion stance, at his political peril. But it won't work. He can't boast about overturning Roe v. Wade and at the same time promise to protect women's rights. On abortion, Trump has already made his bed. Now he must lie in it. And lose.
The press said:Bill Press Pod” is the author of “From left: Life at war;“
