In President Trump's "Meet the Press" interview with Kristen Welker, he seemed to be in favor of some sort of abortion compromise that he thinks would please both sides. He seemed to think that an ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy would be a solution that would bring everyone together.
The media has especially been running with his quote "I think what he did is a terrible thing and a terrible mistake." (which was a reference to DeSantis' 6-week abortion ban). This media emphasis likely an attempt to make conservative members of his supporter base see him as pro-abortion and abandon support of him.
I've already seen a friend of mine start to see him as pro-abortion now, causing him to have second thoughts about supporting him.
What are your thoughts on what he said? Do you think there's a good counterargument to win back conservatives and pro-life people alienated by the quote?
Here's a link to a page with both a full video and full transcript of the "Meet the Press" interview:
And here's the section of the transcript regarding abortion (which starts at about 24 minutes in the video):
KRISTEN WELKER:
We are going to get to the war in Ukraine, but first, I do want to talk about the issue of abortion which is —
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
Okay.
KRISTEN WELKER:
– important to a lot of voters all across the country. Just this week, women in Idaho and Tennessee, I don’t know if you saw this, filed suit against their states saying their lives were put at risk after they were denied abortion services, because of their states’ restrictive laws put in place after Roe was overturned. So my question for you, Mr. President, is: How is it acceptable in America that women’s lives are at risk, doctors are being forced to turn away patients in need, or risk breaking the law?
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
Ready? Little bit of a long answer. I hope you have time.
KRISTEN WELKER:
I hope you have time. I’m here for as long as you have.
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
So you have Roe v. Wade, for 52 years, people including Democrats wanted it to go back to states so the states could make the right. Roe v. Wade — I did something that nobody thought was possible, and Roe v. Wade was terminated, was put back to the states. Now, people, pro-lifers, have the right to negotiate for the first time. They had no rights at all, because the radical people on this are really the Democrats that say, after five months, six months, seven months, eight months, nine months, and even after birth you’re allowed to terminate the baby —
KRISTEN WELKER:
Mr. President, Democrats aren’t saying that. I just have to, Democrats are not saying that.
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
Of course they do —
KRISTEN WELKER:
That’s not true.
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
You have a Virginia governor, previous governor, who said, “After the baby is born, you will make a determination, and if you want, you will kill that baby.” The baby is now born.
KRISTEN WELKER:
But Mr. President, Democrats writ large are not talking about that. Only 1% of late-term abortions happen, and always in the state of —
FMR PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
Okay. They are the —
KRISTEN WELKER:
– crisis.
FMR PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
– radical people —
KRISTEN WELKER:
Okay.
FMR PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
– because nobody wants to see —
KRISTEN WELKER:
But does —
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
– abortion after five months and six months and seven months. And, now it’s going to — it gave people the belief — and pro-life, look, just so you understand, it’s pretty much 50/50. It’s a 50/50 issue, amazing. If you look at the charts, it’s been 49/51. It’s been like that for many years, goes both ways — 51 — both ways. Ready? I was able to do something which gave at least pro-life people a voice. Now it’s going to work out. Now, the number of months will be determined.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Can you answer this question?
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
And you’re going to have something where everybody comes together.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Does it bother you though that women say their lives are being put at risk? Do you feel you bear any responsibility, because as you say, you are responsible for having Roe v. Wade overturned.
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
What’s going to happen, this is an issue that’s been going on for a long time. And it’s a very polarizing issue. Because of what’s been done, and because of the fact we brought it back to the states, we’re going to have people come together on this issue. They’re going to determine the time, because nobody wants to see five, six, seven, eight, nine months. Nobody wants to see abortions when you have a baby in the womb. I said, with Hillary Clinton when we had the debate, I made a statement, “Rip the baby out of the womb in the ninth month, you’re allowed to do that, and you shouldn’t be allowed to do that.”
KRISTEN WELKER:
Again, no one is arguing for that —
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
Again, listen, look —
KRISTEN WELKER:
That’s not a part of anyone’s argument, Mr. President.
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
Look, the Democrats are able to kill the baby after birth.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Let me talk to you —
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
Nobody wants that.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Democrats don’t want that either.
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
So we’re going to come together —
KRISTEN WELKER:
But let’s — I want to — I want to know what you want. I want to know what you’re going to do if you’re —
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
We are going to come together —
KRISTEN WELKER:
Would you sign federal legislation that would ban abortion at 15 weeks?
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
No, no. Let me just tell you what I’d do. I’m going to come together with all groups, and we’re going to have something that’s acceptable. Right now, to my way of thinking, the Democrats are the radicals, because after four and five and six months. But you have to say this, after birth. You have New York State and other places that passed legislation where you’re allowed to kill the baby after birth.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Mr. President, I want to give voters who are going to be weighing in on this election —
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
Yeah.
KRISTEN WELKER:
– a very clear sense of where you stand on —
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
I think they’ll — I think they’re all going to like me. I think both sides are going to like me.
KRISTEN WELKER:
But, let me, let me — but Mr. President —
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
What’s going to have to happen is you’re going to have to —
KRISTEN WELKER:
Mr. President, let me just ask this question, please--
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
Kristen, you’re asking me a question. What’s going to happen is you’re going to come up with a number of weeks or months. You’re going to come up with a number that’s going to make people happy. Because 92% of the Democrats don’t want to see abortion after a certain period of time.
KRISTEN WELKER:
If a federal ban landed on your desk if you were reelected, would you sign it at 15 weeks —
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
Are you talking about a complete ban?
KRISTEN WELKER:
A ban at 15 weeks.
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
Well, people, people are starting to think of 15 weeks. That seems to be a number that people are talking about right now.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Would you sign that?
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
I would sit down with both sides and I’d negotiate something, and we’ll end up with peace on that issue for the first time in 52 years. I’m not going to say I would or I wouldn’t. I mean, DeSanctus is willing to sign a five-week and six-week ban.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Would you support that? You think that goes too far?
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
I think what he did is a terrible thing and a terrible mistake. But we’ll come up with a number, but at the same time, Democrats won’t be able to go out at six months, seven months, eight months and allow an abortion. And Kristen, you have to look at this, because you said “no.” You have some states that are allowed to kill the child after birth, and you can’t allow that.
KRISTEN WELKER:
But Mr. President, again, no one is calling for a child to be killed after birth. No one is calling for that to be allowed —
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
But you have legislation —
KRISTEN WELKER:
But let me just ask you —
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
Kristen, you have legislation in certain states where it’s allowed.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Mr. President —
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
The governor of Virginia, previous governor, who was a whack job —
KRISTEN WELKER:
Previous governor.
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
I call him the Michael Jackson governor.
KRISTEN WELKER:
No one’s talking about that as part of their platform —
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
That governor —
KRISTEN WELKER:
I want to know what you want —
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
Excuse me, that governor said you can kill the baby after birth.
KRISTEN WELKER:
But Mr. President, this is about what you would do if you were reelected. As you know, you upset some anti —
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
We will agree to a number of weeks, which will be where both sides will be happy. We have to bring the country together on this issue.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Mr. President, when you talk about negotiating, I think a lot of people think to themselves, this is an issue that they care about deeply in their hearts —
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
I care about it too. Oh, I care about it too.
KRISTEN WELKER:
And they know where they stand, and they want to know where you stand. As you know, some anti-abortion groups are really looking for some clarity from you. So let me just ask you to put a fine point on this. Should the federal government impose any abortion restrictions, or should it be completely left up to the states?
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
No, I don’t think you should have — I don’t think you should be allowed to have abortions well into a pregnancy.
KRISTEN WELKER:
But what about the question I just asked you —
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
We’re going to agree — no — we’re going to agree to a number of weeks or months or however you want to define it. And both sides are going to come together and both sides — both sides, and this is a big statement, both sides will come together. And for the first time in 52 years, you’ll have an issue that we can put behind us.
KRISTEN WELKER:
At the federal level?
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
It could be state or it could be federal. I don’t frankly care.
KRISTEN WELKER:
So you’re not committed to a ban at the federal level.
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
I will say this. Everybody, including the great legal scholars, love the idea of Roe v. Wade terminated so it can be brought back to the states.
KRISTEN WELKER:
It sounds like that’s what you think too, that it should remain a state issue —
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
Well, I, I would, I would say this: From a pure standpoint, from a legal standpoint, I think it’s probably better, but I can live with it either way. It’s much more important, the number of weeks is much more important. But something will happen with the number of weeks, the amount of time, after which you can’t do it. And you know what? The most — the most powerful people that are anti-abortion are okay with that now. And you know what? They weren’t okay with that even a year ago.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Your former vice president, Mike Pence, believes that a fetus should have constitutional rights. Do you believe that, Mr. president?
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
Well, Mike Pence said something about 15 weeks too, which was a big change for Mike Pence, because Mike Pence had no exceptions. I have exceptions, by the way. I think people should have exceptions. I think if it’s rape or incest or the life of the mother, I think you have to have exceptions. It’s very important.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Does a fetus have constitutional rights, Mr. president?
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
And a lot of people, when they don’t have exceptions — now, I will tell you that I think most people, most Republicans are willing. You go: life of the mother, rape, incest. I think most of them are there.
KRISTEN WELKER:
But should a fetus —
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
That’s a big statement.
KRISTEN WELKER:
– have constitutional rights, Mr. president?
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
Well, I don’t know, I don’t know what he’s saying, because before, he wanted, you know, you couldn’t have abortions at all —
KRISTEN WELKER:
But what are you saying? What do you think —
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
Now all of a sudden — excuse me — now all of a sudden he’s saying 15 weeks. I said, “Wow, where did that come from? That’s a radical change.” Look, something is going to happen that’s going to be good for everybody. And that’s what I’m — I’m almost like a mediator in this case. They wanted Roe v. Wade terminated because it was inappropriate. We got it done. Something is going to happen. It’s going to be a number of weeks. Something is going to happen where the both sides are going to be able to come together. And then we’ll be able to go onto other things, like, the economy, our military —
KRISTEN WELKER:
Are you saying a federal ban with exceptions, is that what you’re saying?
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
What I say is very simple, because you can’t put words in my mouth like that —
KRISTEN WELKER:
I just want to understand.
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
– because you’ve been hearing me talk about this--
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
– issue —
KRISTEN WELKER:
Yeah.
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
– and I think talk about it very productively. It could be a state ban, it could be a federal ban, but Democrats want that too. Democrats don’t want to see abortion in the seventh month, okay. I speak to a lot of Democrats. They want a number. There is a number, and there’s a number that’s going to be agreed to, and Republicans should go out and say the following. They — cause, I think the Republicans speak very inarticulately about this subject. I watch some of them without the exceptions, et cetera, et cetera. I said, “Other than certain parts of the country, you can’t — you’re not going to win on this issue. But you will win on this issue when you come up with the right number of weeks.” Because Democrats don’t want to be radical on the issue, most of them, some do. They don’t want to be radical on the issue. They don’t want to kill a baby in the seventh month or the ninth month or after birth. And they’re allowed to do that, and you can’t do that.
He is super smart and knows if he goes all out for a ban now, it will open up another attack vector for the media and scare off weak Dem supporters who are more centrist who might vote for him, but will be easily put-off by reports of a 'fascist' pro-life stance. At this stage, the most important thing is quantity of votes, 45 needs/wants the biggest swing possible. 45 is all for the children, it's a huge motivator for him. He knows an innocent child at 14 weeks is just as human and important as a 17 week old pre-born baby. The shift towards a pro-life world has to be managed carefully as we are in such a mess. I think he feels the church and pro-life groups have not done anything much to further their cause since he installed the pro-life justices. There has been little effective 'marketing' of the cause to sway people, garner wider support. I think the kind of people that are pro-life activists are not good at organizing the agenda, unlike the Dems who as we know are very clever at marketing their agenda. So it has all relied on 45 and continues to do so. I have little respect for Christians who could barely tolerate 45 in the first place and waiver now so easily. Are these the same Christians who wore masks, stopped sung worship and supported the easy closure of churches often to become vaxxine centres? Conservatives who desert him now over this are fickle fair-weather friends with little understanding or wisdom. If they attack him over this, they show no clue as to what he has gone through to achieve this astonishing feat. I always used to believe we got the government we deserve. That changed with 45/17 as we still don't really deserve their victory. But it's not about us, it's about the vulnerable and the children, it's about doing the right thing for the dominated proxy nations and securing a future for the generations to come. Q said we needed to learn their comms. We are all still learning that. I'm not sure we have really shifted far from base camp on that task yet.
His SC picks kicked the issue back to the states.
Trump's comment to the effect of "we'll sit down and figure out a number everyone is happy with" is irrelevant. He's saying that to shut the interrupting (and rude) report up. Possibly also to reach across the aisle, to show moderates and liberals that he's not a "religious fundamentalist".
Post awakening, I strongly believe that the question of abortion must be concluded decisively and with overwhelming support from all people, so that the decision cannot be reopened ever again.
If that decision is banning abortion completely without any exceptions, it will always give a handle to the evil people in future to pull and pull on, until they open the whole pandora's box again.
We have seen their play book how they do it. They will keep parading "victims" of the ban, first very subtly, then not so subtly, until they divide the country enough so that half of them want to revisit the issue.
Unfortunately, the compromise that can bring everyone together would have to include a number - a solid number - of weeks and Trump is correct on this.
We will never make the world an absolutely perfect place, but the goal is to have the minimum compromises to make the world close to a perfect place and unite atleast 94-96% of people, while making sure this cannot be sabotaged in future no matter how many generations later.
Excellent comment.
My impression is President Trump made the point the Dems have effectively used abortion as a divisive wedge issue for 52 years. They labeled the pro life movement as being radical for not granting exceptions for rape, incest, and the life of the mother. And, they used these rare exceptions as a ploy to steadily expand abortion up to the due date.
What President Trump sees, that other politicians don’t seem to understand, is a 15 week ban virtually ends abortion, saving millions of babies. And, that more stringent restrictions risks tipping power back to Democrats, resulting in more liberal, wide open abortion laws at the state level.
President Trump is making the choice to save millions of babies by accepting 15 week bans and exceptions for the extremely rare cases of rape, incest, and the life of the mother. He knows from 52 years of experience that insisting on more stringent bans results in the opposite of what we want. It gives the Dems what they so desperately need; a wedge issue.
Most importantly, he understands that when abortion is no longer a wedge issue, no longer a perceived “right,” people’s attitudes will change over time. And, as they change the desire and demand for abortion will steadily decline.
It's not perfect, because the infrastructure needed for anonymous adoption of the abused mother's baby is still lacking, as are the funds needed to compensate her for her efforts to be a mother despite her trauma, but at least we're getting away from the all-black vs all-white situation, where ideologies clash more than serious personal situations are resolved. In the same way that the medieval Inquisition was the first to offer a platform of justice to the accused (even if it was highly imperfect), this compromise, if seen as a step towards real progress, is not insignificant: at least we're considering no longer aborting pussies who forget the necessity of contraception in case of inaptitude for divine chastity.
His stance of being a caring mediator will do just fine. He's got the primary locked already.
He's also 100% right that Roe v Wade was unconstitutional overreach by SCOTUS, and under it, pro-lifers were denied their place in the legislative process. In a democratic republic, the people, not the courts, should create the laws, whatever they are.
I think he's right. The majority of pro-lifers actually do condone abortion in the first Trimester (12 weeks) some prefer the 8 week threshold (which is when brainwaves first begin to form...)
The idea that a woman is limited to only having the choice to terminate in the first 6 weeks, often before she even knows she's pregnant, is rather ridiculous, and Republicans making that part of their platform does hurt their chances of getting elected.
Every state will be different. Negotiate the best deal in each state. Then come back for more later.
Here is the very short answer: President Trump is a dealer and everything is up to a deal including abortion. To him, you just can't out and out ban abortion or put strict limits on it. And even if you do put strict limits on abortion, Besides, he'll likely go for a 10 week federal constitutional ban. But I think we'll see some sort of ban enacted constitutionally by his successor.
lol, after 50 years of trying he is the only president that successfully ends unconstitutional abortion at the federal level. There is no way they can paint him as “pro” abortion.
15weeks is a reasonable amount of time and is pretty much the standard in other western countries and is a good compromise.