GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan (LifeSiteNews) — Former president and presumptive Republican White House nominee Donald Trump teased that a new statement laying out his abortion stance will be released next week, after declining to answer whether he would support a six-week abortion ban.
Mediaite reports that, after wrapping up an event in Michigan, an unidentified reporter called out, “Mr. President, do you support the six-week abortion ban like the four Supreme Court Justices…” before being cut off by a wave of boos from audience members.
“We’ll be making a statement next week on abortion,” Trump said simply. “We’re going to make a statement next week. Thank you.”
It is unclear whether the new statement will mark a return to the broad pro-life platform Trump ran on in his previous candidacies, or double down on attempts to chart a new middle ground on the issue.
Since last September, Trump has repeatedly suggested that if elected again he wants to find a “certain number of weeks” that would make both sides “happy” to put the issue “behind us,” even going so far as to call heartbeat-based abortion bans enacted by various states a “terrible mistake,” emphasize his desire for whatever pro-life actions Republicans pursue to contain exceptions for the so-called “hard cases,” and declared his support for in-vitro fertilization.
At times the former president has expressed openness to a 15-week abortion ban while at the same time suggesting such decisions should be relegated to the state level but has not yet officially endorsed a specific course of action.
Supporters have defended Trump by citing his generally pro-life record in office and nomination of three of the justices who went on to overturn Roe v. Wade, as well as by citing persistent fears among Republicans that abortion has been to blame for their election woes over the past two years – a narrative that oversimplifies polling data and election results and discounts a host of unrelated factors. Various pro-life voices objected, yet Trump maintained his overwhelming lead all throughout the GOP’s 2024 primary and easily bested his two closest competitors, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley.
Polls currently have Trump leading Democrat incumbent President Biden, although voters also say that convictions in Trump’s various ongoing legal battles would make them less likely to support him. However, serious concern among Democrats over Biden’s age and mental health, and deep dissatisfaction with his job performance, give the current president comparable electoral challenges.
Third-party candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. could be a wild card, as he has qualities that appeal to each major candidate’s base. At the moment, the aforementioned polls show Trump’s lead persisting even with Kennedy factored in, but given how close many are predicting the election to be, concern persists that even small defections could impact the outcome.