Trump did an interview for Sunday’s NBC’s Meet the Press and one of the big topics was abortion. In the interview, Trump expressed interest in negotiating some kind of compromise on abortion that would make both the left and the right happy.
Because of this he refused to express an opinion on the issue, other than to suggest that partial birth abortion was a deal breaker.
Here’s more from NBC:
Former President Donald Trump declined to stake out a clear position on the future of abortion rights in an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” but he repeatedly expressed interest in serving as a mediator between “both sides” of the issue to reach an agreement.
“I think they’re all going to like me,” he said. “I think both sides are going to like me.”
During his wide-ranging interview with NBC “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker, Trump seemed to seek wiggle room on an issue that has plagued Republicans at the ballot box since the Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade decision last year.
The interview, which was taped on Thursday, was Welker’s first as moderator of “Meet the Press.” NBC News has also extended an invitation to President Joe Biden to sit down for an interview.
Trump declined to endorse a standard number of weeks after which abortion would be illegal, with some exceptions, and he similarly refused to say whether he feels the issue would be best settled at the state or federal level.
“We’re going to agree to a number of weeks or months or however you want to define it,” Trump said. “And both sides are going to come together and both sides — both sides, and this is a big statement — both sides will come together. And for the first time in 52 years, you’ll have an issue that we can put behind us.”
In response, Welker asked whether such an agreement would take place at the federal level.
“It could be state or it could be federal,” Trump said. “I don’t, frankly, care.”
Trump made clear that he’d definitely support exceptions to abortion, criticizing others in the party who refuse exceptions:
Trump said members of his own party “speak very inarticulately about this subject.
“I watch some of them without the exceptions, et cetera, et cetera,” he said, referring to conservatives who don’t support abortion exceptions in cases including abortion and rape. “I said, ‘Other than certain parts of the country, you can’t — you’re not going to win on this issue. But you will win on this issue when you come up with the right number of weeks.”
“Because Democrats don’t want to be radical on the issue, most of them, some do,” he continued. “They don’t want to be radical on the issue. They don’t want to kill a baby in the seventh month or the ninth month or after birth. And they’re allowed to do that, and you can’t do that.”
Bob Vanderplaats responded “If both sides are going to like @realDonaldTrump, a lot of babies going to end up dead.” He’s absolutely right. This isn’t a negotiation issue like he’s making it out to be. These are babies lives we are trying to save.
And honestly, I don’t even know how this would work unless you do it on the federal level. And if Trump is talking about undermining states that have already enacted terrific pro-life laws, then I have a YUGE problem with that. Yeah, this sounds like a really bad idea to begin with and one he hasn’t given much thought.