Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance walked back his emphatic declaration that his running mate, former President Donald Trump, would veto a national abortion ban if he were to retake the White House in November.
“I think that I’ve learned my lesson on speaking for the president before he and I have actually talked about an issue,” Vance told NBC on Sunday.
Vance said in August that he could “absolutely commit” that Trump would veto a federal abortion ban should such legislation make its way through both the House and Senate following the 2024 election.
But during last week’s debate between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump denied speaking with Vance about the possibility of a ban.
“I didn’t discuss it with J.D., in all fairness,” Trump said during the debate. “I don’t mind if he has a certain view, but I think he was speaking for me.”
Trump also said during the debate that federal abortion legislation of any kind (either some sort of gestational age limit or a codification of national abortion rights) would be highly improbable.
“She’ll never get the vote,” Trump said during the debate, referencing Harris’s promise of codifying unlimited abortion rights. “It’s impossible for her to get the vote, especially now with 50/50 essentially, 50/50 in both the Senate and the House. She’s not going to get the vote.”
During the NBC interview this weekend, Vance reiterated that the former president has “been incredibly clear that he doesn’t support a national abortion ban,” instead favoring each state making their own decisions on gestational age limits for the controversial procedure.
Vance added on Sunday that his running mate believes it is “ridiculous to talk about vetoing a piece of legislation that isn’t going to come before the president in the first place.”
Meanwhile, polling data from earlier this month reflects that voters nationwide want some form of a federal standard on abortion legislation.
Large majorities in swing states in particular, ranging from 64% in Nevada to 73% in Wisconsin, responded affirmatively to a University of Maryland study that questioned whether they supported a federal abortion law.
More than 70% of Michigan voters and 69% of Pennsylvania voters desire a federal standard on gestational age limits for abortion.