Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., doubled down on his rebuke of former President Donald Trump’s position that abortion policies should be left up to individual states to decide—after Trump attacked his Senate ally for challenging his stance.
Then-President Donald Trump speaks to Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) during an event about judicial ... [+]
Graham told reporters Tuesday that a “state’s rights approach” equates to an abandonment of “your position on late term abortion,” noting that it allows left-leaning states, such as California and New York, to allow broader access to abortion.
Graham, who has repeatedly introduced legislation to impose a 15-week national abortion ban, said “most Americans are where I’m at” on abortion.
Polls show about half of Americans support a 15-week federal ban, including a June Associated Press-NORC poll that found 51% support and 45% oppose the policy proposal, while an April Fox News poll showed 54% are in favor of the limitations and 42% are against them.
Graham on Monday said he “respectfully” disagrees with Trump’s position announced Monday that abortion is a state issue, predicting that it “will age about as well as the Dred Scott decision,” referring to the 19th century Supreme Court ruling that determined enslaved people are not U.S. citizens.
Trump fired back at the criticism in a series of Truth Social posts Monday, accusing Graham of “doing a great disservice to the Republican Party,” and boosting Democrats chances of winning elections, while claiming his endorsement is the “only reason” Graham is in office (Graham won re-election in 2020 with 54% of the vote).
Graham has also tepidly criticized Trump over his stance on the Russia-Ukraine war. Graham told the Washington Post in a piece published Sunday he has attempted to convince the former president the only way to end the war is to admit Ukraine into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union, but Trump “doesn’t say much about that. I don’t know if he’s thought too much about it,” Graham said. Trump, who has drawn criticism for his praise of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has said repeatedly he believes he could end the war within 24 hours if he is elected again and has suggested Ukraine should cede parts of its territory to Russia to end the war.
Trump on Monday attempted to end months of uncertainty about his position on abortion by saying it was a state’s right issue. Yet his position—announced in a video statement—left open the possibility that he could support a national abortion ban, which he has signaled previously he might support. Graham wasn’t Trump’s only ally to openly contest his stance. The anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony List said it was “deeply disappointed” by Trump’s statement, but still supports his candidacy. The Biden campaign also predicted Trump would ultimately sign a federal abortion ban into law if it crossed his desk—a notion other Republicans contested, including Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., who chairs Senate Republicans’ campaign arm, the National Republican Senatorial Committee. “Republicans do not support a federal ban on abortion. Period,” Daines told Axios, claiming “[that’s]
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