I was on Fox News Media Buzz with Howard Kurtz and Richard Fowler talking about President Trump’s recent statements on abortion.
Watch here:
Transcription
Howard Kurtz
Donald Trump has kicked the abortion debate into high gear in his Meet the Press interview. The former president said he would resolve the controversy, which has grown more intense since the Supreme Court overturned Roe. By acting, quote, almost as a mediator.
President Trump
I think they’re all going to like me. I think both sides are going to like me. 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.
Pundit 1
There’s no question that the Meet the Press comments are going to be a part of ads that his rivals are going to do to remind evangelical voters that, wait, he’s not supporting the pro-life cause right now.
Pundit 2
I’m going to give Donald Trump some credit. What he’s doing on abortion and talking about reproductive rights is going to moderate the Republican Party and make you more mainstream.
Pundt 3
What’s so striking is any other Republican candidate and any other Republican primary….those comments on abortion, in his position on abortion would end his candidacy among primary voters, like period.
Howard Kurtz
The former president also took direct aim at the six week abortion ban that Ron DeSantis signed in Florida.
President Trump
I mean, Desanctus was willing to sign a five week and six week ban and support that. You think that what he did is a terrible thing and a terrible mistake?
Governor Ron DeSantis
I think all pro-lifers should know that he’s preparing to sell you out. Donald Trump may think it’s terrible. I think protecting babies with heartbeat is noble.
Howard Kurtz
Joining us now, Gayle Trotter, an attorney who hosts The Right in D.C. podcast, and Richard Fowler with radio talk show host and Fox News contributor. Gayle, Donald Trump rightfully boasts that he is the president after half a century responsible for the overturning of Roe through his Supreme Court appointments. But now some pro-life groups, some more vocal than others, are unhappy that he’s talking about brokering a compromise.
Gayle Trotter
Well, the truly great thing about the national debate that we’re in right now is that after 50 years, the abortion issue has been returned to the democratic process. We see that people can make the decisions. They can forge a consensus. States are going to have different approaches to what they want to do about this.
Donald Trump is showing that he is open to discussing this and really appealing to the general electorate and the media coverage of this is trying to say that there are all these divisions when truly they don’t want to acknowledge the strength that former President Trump has going into this.
They want to say that he’s fumbled this issue, that he’s in a no win situation. The truth is that this demonstrates his strength and the media do not want to cover that because they have this anti-Trump bias that they continue to go with.
Howard Kurtz
Richard, I mean, Trump’s insisting that the Republicans have to find a better way to talk about the very difficult issue of abortion may well be right, But they also, when he says both sides are going to like me, there may be no middle ground because one side and the many adherents believe that abortion is murder and the other side believes that what’s paramount is a woman’s right to choose what to do with her body.
Richard Fowler
Well, I think you’re right. I don’t think he’s going to make any of the sides happy here. But here’s part of the problem. And I think this is where the media is subpar coverage of this. The whole list, the the holistic view of this issue is problematic. And I think here’s where the politics of this issue is actually problematic.
The March of Dimes in 2023 reported that 5.6 million women, more so than any other year previous from the report live in a maternity doesn’t mean they live in a place they don’t have access to maternity care. Beyond that, of all the high net worth developed countries in the world, America has the highest pregnancy related death rate in the world.
Right. And so what that says to me is when you decouple abortion protections of reproductive reproductive care with maternity access and you have a state legislature debating whether it’s six weeks, whether it’s ten weeks or the 16 weeks, and not one state legislature in the South especially debating how do we protect mothers when they’re giving birth. You have a larger problem afoot.
And this problem is that American women are dying in childbirth. And neither party seems to be addressing this issue clearly. And instead we’re having a conversation around abortion, which is why American women are making these decisions over and over at the ballot box. And they’re picking some candidates over others.
Howard Kurtz
Gayle, it’s no secret that most members of the media are pro-choice, and yet you say their coverage of Donald Trump on this issue is not fair. But from their viewpoint, he wants a compromise. Wouldn’t they be more sympathetic than usual to the former president? Because compromise means, again, from their point of view, that more abortions would be performed as opposed to zero.
Gayle Trotter
Well, look at the coverage with their anti-Trump bias. They have said that he fumbled what he said and that that video that we saw the interview. They’re saying that he is being hated on by the pro-life advocates for going against this. But is that true? The point is that he’s trying to forge a consensus, and I think I would agree with Richard on this.
And I think this is where we can have a consensus, the culture of life that values human life from conception until natural death. It’s not just about abortion.
So when you’re talking about abortion as a national issue, it’s something that engages many other issues. When you’re looking at state regulation of this or federal regulation of it, you have to look at it as a whole picture.
And that’s what pro-lifers want. It’s not just about abortion. It’s about creating a culture of life. Trump is strong on this because he went from a situation where you had unelected lawyers with life tenure, making up rights to a situation where you can take it back to the democratic process and we can forge a consent.
Howard Kurtz
The Constitution allows presidents to appoint these people for life tenure. Rachel, I’ll let you respond, but I also wanted to ask you what you make of Trump going after Ron DeSantis for signing a six week abortion ban as terrible when that’s far closer to what the pro-life side wants?
Richard Fowler
Look, I think there’s a couple of things here. I think thing number one is this When you have a whole bunch of politicians, not medical doctors, making these decisions for women and for families, that’s where the problem starts, when we could say it’s six weeks, over ten weeks, ten weeks, over 15 weeks, and not there’s not a OB-GYN in this conversation.
There’s not a midwife in this conversation. There’s not a registered nurse in this conversation. They’re not mothers in this conversation. There’s a whole bunch of politicians trying to run from talking about which one is the president versus Ron DeSantis versus whoever. They’re having these conversations that are not including or centering the people who are the most victimized or the most at the center of this.
And that’s where the problem starts. And that’s why you see voters moving with their feet and saying, we don’t like any of this. We like what was there before, because at least at minimum, we knew there was some sort of federal guard where.
Howard Kurtz
It’s not coming back in terms of the Supreme Court. But the president, the former president, I should say, also talking about the importance of having exceptions to any abortion policy for rape, incest and the life of the mother. Take a look.
President Trump
Without the exceptions, it is very difficult to win elections. We would probably lose the majorities in 2024 without the exceptions and perhaps the presidency itself. In order to win in 2024, Republicans must learn how to properly talk about abortion.
Howard Kurtz
What are your thoughts on that, Gail, and also Ron DeSantis says he’s proud of the Heartbeat bill in Florida. The Trump is selling out the pro-life side.
Gayle Trotter
Well, Richard just said that the most victimized people are not part of this conversation. Pro-lifers would say, yes, the people are most victimized by abortion, are unborn babies, so they cannot be part of this conversation.
President Trump, unlike all the other Republican presidents since Roe v Wade was put into law, has been the most pro-life president that we’ve ever had.
He attended the March for Life. He is trying to create a culture of life that goes beyond just the single issue.
I think the pro-life movement is a big tent. There are people with different ideas of what the limits should be, and there are many, many limits on abortion.
When you look at conservatives who believe that everything should not be done at the national level, that there should be a debate at the state level, he is really playing into what conservatives have always said, that they support you.
Howard Kurtz
I’ve just got 15 seconds. Is this a play for the general election where this might be more popular than among GOP primary voters? But he’s already got a huge lead.
Richard Fowler
Absolutely. Listen to what the president well, listen to the former president just told you there. Without upset, without exceptions, we can’t win. He’s telling you that voters have made it very clear where they stand on these issues. And if you’re not where they stand, you’re going to lose the 2024 election. And a lot of Republicans aren’t where they stand right now.
Howard Kurtz
I think this debate is only going to continue. Gayle Trotter, Richard Fowler, thanks so much for coming by this Sunday.
See my coverage of the 2020 March for Life (the year President Trump spoke):
