Donald Trump just stepped in it
Ever since the extremist Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, even a skilled Republican politician would have a hard time figuring out how to take an anti-abortion position without stepping in it. Then there’s Donald Trump, who is… not a skilled politician.
Trump has spent quite awhile struggling to figure out what position to take on abortion. Of late he’s taken to simply not answering the question, which is not a savvy approach when everyone knows you’re on the unpopular side of an issue that has been deciding elections of late.
Trump (or one of his handlers) now appears to understand that his silence on abortion has become a real problem. To that end, Trump posted this to social did on Sunday night: “I will be putting out my statement on Abortion and Abortion Rights tomorrow morning. Republicans, and all others, must follow their hearts and minds, but remember that, like Ronald Reagan before me, I, and most other Republicans, believe in EXCEPTIONS for Rape, Incest, and Life of the Mother. Great love and compassion must be shown when even thinking about the subject of LIFE, but at the same time we must use common sense in realizing that we have an obligation to the salvation of our Nation, which is currently in serious DECLINE, TO WIN ELECTIONS.”
We’ve included Trump’s entire statement here because it reveals just how lost in the weeds he is. First of all, if you can’t state your position on a hot button political issue in less than ten words, you’re going to have trouble getting your message across to voters. Trump has used ten times this many words, and yet he’s still said nothing.
Actually, Trump has said one thing here, and it’s worse than if he’d said nothing. He’s actually admitting that he’s basing his abortion position on what he thinks will give him the best chance to win the election. Even when politicians think in these terms, they’re not supposed to admit it publicly like this.
Trump is not only flubbing the issue, he’s flat out admitting that his position is based on political expediency. Good luck spending the rest of the election season explaining to women that your view on precisely how much their rights should be curtailed is based on some polling you’ve seen. What an idiot. Trump hasn’t even released his official position yet, and he’s already stepped in it.
Bill Palmer is the publisher of the political news outlet Palmer Report