Former President Donald Trump berated Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), one of his strongest allies on Capitol Hill, mere hours after the South Carolina senator said he disagreed with Trump’s latest abortion stance.
“Senator Lindsey Graham is doing a great disservice to the Republican Party, and to our Country. At first he wanted no Abortions under any circumstances, then he was up to 6 weeks, where you’re allowed Abortion, now he’s up to 15 weeks, where you’re allowed Abortion,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday afternoon.
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Earlier on Monday, Trump said it was up to individual states to determine how far to limit abortion access in the nearly two years since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. The comments were part of Trump’s long history of struggling to stick to messaging on abortion.
He’s previously called six-week abortion bans “terrible” and cautioned the GOP that abortion could cost the party key elections while bragging about appointing the Supreme Court justices that paved the way to strike down Roe.
“My view is now that we have abortion where everybody wanted it from a legal standpoint, the states will determine by vote or legislation or perhaps both,” Trump said. “And whatever they decide must be the law of the land. In this case, the law of the state. Many states will be different, many will have a different number of weeks, or some will have more conservative than others, and that’s what they will be.”
He faced some swift blowback from anti-abortion leaders ranging from Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America to his former running mate, Mike Pence, and Graham.
“I respectfully disagree with President Trump’s statement that abortion is a states’ rights issue,” Graham said in a statement. “Dobbs does not require that conclusion legally and the pro-life movement has always been about the wellbeing of the unborn child – not geography.”
“I will continue to advocate that there should be a national minimum standard limiting abortion at fifteen weeks,” Graham continued. “Because the child is capable of feeling pain, with exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother.”
Graham was one of the loudest Republican lawmakers pushing for the GOP to embrace a 15-week national abortion ban. But Trump appears reticent to endorse a 15-week or 16-week ban after publishing the video abortion statement.
Trump chastised Graham and defended himself against the criticisms from the GOP.
“Terminating Roe v. Wade was, according to all Legal Scholars, a Great Event, but sometimes with Great Events come difficulties,” Trump wrote. “Many Good Republicans lost Elections because of this Issue, and people like Lindsey Graham, that are unrelenting, are handing Democrats their dream of the House, Senate, and perhaps even the Presidency.”
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Since the fall of Roe, Democrats have galvanized voters at the ballot, leading to fewer 2022 midterm election losses. Trump appears to be straddling a fine line of placating anti-abortion GOP voters while appealing to moderate voters, who could boost his 2024 campaign against President Joe Biden.
The Biden campaign quickly jumped on Trump’s comments, releasing a statement condemning Trump, launching a new ad blaming Trump for the pain a Texan woman faced after being denied medical care due to a miscarriage, and hosting a press call with reporters, all on Monday.
