For the first time in four decades, Republicans may remove a policy plank calling for a nationwide abortion ban from their official party platform — a strategic omission to help Trump win the White House this fall.
Notably, the move doesn’t demonstrate a shift in Republicans’ views on reproductive rights — indeed, in the years since Roe v. Wade was overturned by the far right Supreme Court, GOP lawmakers have committed themselves to restricting the procedure more than ever before, backing bans at the state level as well as within Congress.
Platform committee members are meeting in Milwaukee this week, seven days before the Republican National Convention is set to take place in that city. For the first time in many election cycles, the committee will not allow their deliberations to be viewed by members of the media or the public as they hash out what they want the final document to include. Reports indicate, however, that the Trump campaign has been vocal about their desire to have vehement anti-abortion language removed.
Trump’s campaign has been upfront about why they want the anti-abortion statements and other divisive language stricken from the record.
“Publishing an unnecessarily verbose treatise will provide more fuel for our opponent’s fire of misinformation and misrepresentation to voters,” a memo from his campaign staffers relating to the platform stated last month. “It is with that recognition that we will present a streamlined platform in line with President Trump’s principled and popular vision for America’s future.”
As such, a decree on banning abortion throughout the U.S. isn’t likely to be included in the platform, as doing so could cause moderate voters to back away from Trump in the voting booth come November.
Polling suggests that the deceptive move is perhaps a good strategy, as the percentage of Americans who believe abortion should be illegal under all circumstances has never been lower — a Gallup survey published in May, for example, shows that only 12 percent of Americans back a total abortion ban, down from 21 percent who supported it just five years ago.
Among swing state voters, a majority support abortion rights, a Public Religion Research Institute poll found earlier this year, with 64 percent of voters in the states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin saying abortion should be legal in all or most cases.
Despite Trump saying numerous times that he is “proud” to have appointed the Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe, Trump has tampered down his own statements regarding abortion. Currently, his stance is that laws and regulations on abortion should be decided by individual states — despite the fact that reproductive rights, including access to abortion, are recognized as human rights by the international community.
The GOP’s move to omit a call for a national abortion ban has upset many anti-abortion groups who were planning to support Trump. But it also constitutes flagrant gaslighting from the former president and his party, as Trump has stated unequivocally in the past that he backs a nationwide abortion ban.
In his 2016 run for president, for example, Trump said “there has to be some form of punishment” for a person receiving an abortion. After that statement was met with backlash, he took five different stances on abortion within three days, indicating that he’s more than willing to alter his public stance on the subject in order to win voters.
Earlier this year, Trump again appeared to endorse a 15-week abortion ban across the country. After that view was widely condemned, Trump tweaked his purported beliefs, choosing instead to peddle “states’ rights” talking points on abortion.
Democrats are hoping to capitalize on a pro-abortion platform this fall. This week, the Biden campaign released an ad attacking Trump for his record on abortion, including his statements describing the Supreme Court’s overturn of Roe as “a great thing.”
“Ask yourself: who do you want in the White House? The man proud to overturn Roe v. Wade, or the president fighting for your rights?” the ad states.
Help us Prepare for Trump’s Day One
Trump is busy getting ready for Day One of his presidency – but so is Truthout.
Trump has made it no secret that he is planning a demolition-style attack on both specific communities and democracy as a whole, beginning on his first day in office. With over 25 executive orders and directives queued up for January 20, he’s promised to “launch the largest deportation program in American history,” roll back anti-discrimination protections for transgender students, and implement a “drill, drill, drill” approach to ramp up oil and gas extraction.
Organizations like Truthout are also being threatened by legislation like HR 9495, the “nonprofit killer bill” that would allow the Treasury Secretary to declare any nonprofit a “terrorist-supporting organization” and strip its tax-exempt status without due process. Progressive media like Truthout that has courageously focused on reporting on Israel’s genocide in Gaza are in the bill’s crosshairs.
As journalists, we have a responsibility to look at hard realities and communicate them to you. We hope that you, like us, can use this information to prepare for what’s to come.
And if you feel uncertain about what to do in the face of a second Trump administration, we invite you to be an indispensable part of Truthout’s preparations.
In addition to covering the widespread onslaught of draconian policy, we’re shoring up our resources for what might come next for progressive media: bad-faith lawsuits from far-right ghouls, legislation that seeks to strip us of our ability to receive tax-deductible donations, and further throttling of our reach on social media platforms owned by Trump’s sycophants.
We’re preparing right now for Trump’s Day One: building a brave coalition of movement media; reaching out to the activists, academics, and thinkers we trust to shine a light on the inner workings of authoritarianism; and planning to use journalism as a tool to equip movements to protect the people, lands, and principles most vulnerable to Trump’s destruction.
We urgently need your help to prepare. As you know, our December fundraiser is our most important of the year and will determine the scale of work we’ll be able to do in 2025. We’ve set two goals: to raise $115,000 in one-time donations and to add 1365 new monthly donors by midnight on December 31.
Today, we’re asking all of our readers to start a monthly donation or make a one-time donation – as a commitment to stand with us on day one of Trump’s presidency, and every day after that, as we produce journalism that combats authoritarianism, censorship, injustice, and misinformation. You’re an essential part of our future – please join the movement by making a tax-deductible donation today.
If you have the means to make a substantial gift, please dig deep during this critical time!
With gratitude and resolve,
Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy