DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) 鈥� is dominating the early stages of the Republican presidential primary even as he's refused to endorse a federal ban on , allowing on an issue that animates many conservative activists.
Aiming to return to the White House, the former president often notes how his presidency advanced the cause of abortion opponents. He appointed three conservative Supreme Court justices who helped , abolishing the federally guaranteed right to the procedure and fulfilling the decades-long aspirations of anti-abortion activists.
But Trump has so far declined to go along with some of his rivals, most notably his onetime vice president, , who is pushing for national bans that would take effect relatively early into a pregnancy. He's warned Republicans against locking themselves into positions that are unpopular with a majority of the public and has argued that the Supreme Court's decision gives abortion opponents the right to 鈥渘egotiate鈥� restrictions where they live rather than rely on federal curbs.
That tension underscores the new reality the GOP finds itself in more than a year into the post-Roe era. While top Republicans were long able to simply declare themselves opposed to abortion, they must now contend with more complicated questions 鈥� including when access should be banned and whether uniform standards might apply across the U.S., even in states where support for abortion rights runs deep.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a wide variety of opinion. Should there be a national ban? At how many weeks? Should it be entirely left to the states?鈥� said Steve Scheffler, president of the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition and a Republican National Committee member. 鈥淪ome people get it wrong when they think this constituency is in lockstep.鈥�
The dynamic will be on fresh display in the coming days, at events dominated by social conservatives. Trump joined a crowded slate of candidates speaking Friday in Washington at an event for the Family Research Council and headlined the Concerned Women for America's Leadership Summit dinner. But he鈥檚 skipping Scheffler's Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition banquet on Saturday in Des Moines, where Pence will be among the candidates who will address evangelical Christians, long an influential bloc in the first-in-the-nation caucus.
about two-thirds of Americans believe abortion should generally be legal, and Trump has said in recent years that he supports exceptions to abortion bans when a pregnancy was caused by rape or incest or threatens the life of the mother.
But Trump, who said again Friday that the Supreme Court ruling 鈥渕oves the issue back to the states ... where it should be," has repeatedly criticized fellow Republicans for the way they talk about the issue. He argues it could benefit the party politically if candidates learn to speak about it differently by highlighting Democratic positions that are out of the political mainstream.
鈥淭o be honest, Republicans don鈥檛 know how to discuss the subject,鈥� he said at the Concerned Women for America event. 鈥淲e do have to hold on to office, we do have to win. And we can win elections on this issue, but it鈥檚 very delicate and explaining it properly is an extremely important thing.鈥�
Speaking later Friday at the Family Research Council event, Trump blamed the issue for the GOP鈥檚 lackluster performance in the 2022 midterm elections. 鈥淚 will say politically, it鈥檚 a very tough, it鈥檚 a very tough decision for some people, but very, very hard on elections. Very, very hard,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his was, we had midterms and this was an issue, you know.鈥�
Indeed, in the aftermath of the high court's abortion decision, Democrats mounted a strong performance in last year's midterms, limiting their House losses and maintaining the Senate majority. Voters in Republican-leaning states have also rejected GOP-backed efforts to curb abortion.
Once a self-described 鈥渧ery pro-choice鈥� New York businessman, Trump had to do more than most major GOP candidates to win over initially skeptical evangelical Christians during his 2016 presidential run. A political committee supporting one of his rivals from a 1999 interview in which he declared, 鈥淚 am pro-choice in every respect.鈥�
Attempting to bolster his anti-abortion credentials, Trump released a who could be counted on to overturn Roe v. Wade long before actually winning the White House.
Trump now calls himself the 鈥渕ost pro-life president鈥� in U.S. history, pointing to his Supreme Court picks and .
Ironically, Democrats are promoting the same branding. President is making abortion rights central to his and attacks on the former president鈥檚 鈥淢ake America Great Again鈥� movement.
鈥淟ed by Donald Trump, who鈥檚 done more to pave the way for abortion bans than anyone in history, MAGA Republicans are poised to again be rejected by the American people who want women to have the freedom to make their own health care decisions,鈥� said Ammar Moussa, a spokesman for Biden鈥檚 reelection campaign, in a statement.
Ahead of last year鈥檚 midterm election, meanwhile, Trump warned candidates, including his endorsed choice for Michigan governor, , to 鈥渢alk differently about abortion.鈥� He urged Dixon to explicitly allow for exceptions in cases of rape, incest and when the life of the mother is at risk, but she nonetheless lost handily to Michigan Democratic Gov. .
Mike DeMastus is an evangelical Christian in Des Moines who was part of a private meeting this summer between Trump and a group of pastors and asked Trump about abortion.
鈥淗is response to me was, 鈥業鈥檝e given you leverage now to make a better deal,鈥欌�� recalled DeMastus, who supports some form of a federal ban but isn't ruling out backing Trump even if he doesn't.
Many in the Republican primary field have taken a harder line.
Pence, whom Trump picked as his No. 2 , has declared , at a minimum, a federal abortion ban 15 weeks into pregnancy.
麻豆传媒AV Carolina Sen. , also making a push to appeal to Iowa evangelical voters, concurs with Pence. He recently criticized fellow 麻豆传媒AV Carolinian , who says Republicans should look for bipartisan consensus on abortion since stricter federal bans won't clear Congress.
But entrepreneur opposes national bans in favor of state restrictions, and other major candidates have been noncommittal. That includes Florida Gov. , who often answers questions about a federal ban by saying his state recently passed a ban on abortion after six weeks of pregnancy.
Trump maintains that even some anti-abortion activists believe the six-week ban 鈥� before many women even know they鈥檙e pregnant 鈥� is too harsh.
The country鈥檚 leading anti-abortion group, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, wants GOP presidential candidates to advocate for a 15-week federal ban. Its president, Marjorie Dannenfelser, said anything less is 鈥渦nacceptable to the pro-life movement.鈥�
Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung noted that Dannenfelser's group has praised Trump's presidency as 鈥漷he most consequential in American history for the pro-life cause." Other activists aren't as firm, however.
Kim Lehman, the former president of Iowa Right to Life and also an RNC member, says the issue should be left to the states.
鈥淲e need someone who is going to stand up for life and not just be a mouthpiece,鈥� said Lehman, who has not endorsed a GOP primary candidate. 鈥淏ut I believe our people are best served when this decision is made from the ground up.鈥�
Democrats have unified around calls to protect abortion rights, seeing it as an issue of strength in 2024. Mini Timmaraju, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, said Republicans are trying to seem softer on abortion in an attempt to head off more losses.
鈥淭hey know that, if they鈥檙e clear about their motivations and their positions, they鈥檒l lose. And so they鈥檙e trying to confuse the public,鈥� Timmaraju said. 鈥淭he challenge is, they鈥檝e run for so long as a party embedded and intertwined with the radical, extremist anti-abortion movement that it鈥檚 almost impossible to disentangle themselves now.鈥�
Marlys Popma, a longtime GOP strategist for statewide and presidential candidates in Iowa, is among those suggesting her party embrace nuance. She described herself as 鈥渁n incrementalist" but acknowledged, 鈥淐ertain people in the movement don鈥檛 like incrementalism鈥� and think "we have to have it all."
鈥淎nd if you want anything different than that,鈥� she added, "then you are wrong and a bad pro-lifer.鈥�
___
Associated Press writers Jill Colvin in New York and Sara Burnett in Chicago contributed to this report.
Will Weissert And Thomas Beaumont, The Associated Press
