Trump Publicly Hints at Support for 15-Week Abortion Ban
(Bloomberg) -- Donald Trump suggested in a radio interview he would support a 15-week abortion ban with exceptions, the first time he has publicly offered specifics on an issue that’s stymied Republicans.
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In an interview with WABC’s “Sid & Friends In The Morning” on Tuesday, the former president said he would make a formal announcement at an appropriate time.
“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,” he said about a nationwide ban with exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother.
Privately, Trump had told allies in February that he would support a 16-week ban. Abortion will be a key issue in the general election. A 2022 Supreme Court ruling that overturned federal abortion protections mobilized swaths of voters that helped Democrats maintain control of the Senate during the midterm elections of that year and led to slimmer-than-expected losses in the House.
Stricter abortion provisions were enacted in many Republican-leaning states, including laws that prohibited the procedure six weeks after conception.
Until now, Trump has publicly tip-toed around the contentious issue, but signaled Tuesday that he is leaning for less restrictive policies than some social conservatives in his party.
“Here’s the problem, you have to win elections,” Trump said of people proposing stricter bans in the radio interview. “If you don’t win the election, you’re gonna end up back where you started.”
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