Popular Information - How Trump played the media on abortion
Popular Information reaches 330,000 people directly via email. But our impact on the national conversation is significantly larger. On Monday, for example, we published a piece revealing that 81% of the authors of Project 2025, the radical blueprint for a second Trump presidency, worked in his first administration. This reporting authoritatively debunked Trump's claim that he knows "nothing about Project 2025," has "no idea who is behind it," and has "nothing to do with them." Here is what happened next:
This kind of impact is only possible because Popular Information does not lock its work behind a paywall to generate revenue. Instead, we rely on readers like you who value our journalism and choose to support it. You can join this effort by upgrading to a paid subscription. It is $50/year or $6/month. Donald Trump has created a powerful political base of supporters, many of whom are attracted to his swashbuckling style. But much of Trump's policy agenda is deeply unpopular — particularly with swing voters. There is little support for enacting tax cuts for corporations, repealing Obamacare, or rolling back environmental protections. This is why Trump is attempting to distance himself from Project 2025, the radical blueprint for a second Trump administration. The 920-page document was written by his allies, more than 80% of whom worked in his administration. But Trump claims he has "nothing to do" with the people who wrote it because he does not want to be associated with unpopular policies. For Trump, the less people know about his plans for a second term, the better. This is particularly true on the issue of abortion. Trump gladly takes credit for the repeal of Roe, which was made possible through Trump's nomination of three anti-abortion Supreme Court Justices. The repeal of Roe has cleared the way for many states to enforce draconian abortion bans. But, for the leaders of the Republican Party, repealing Roe was only the first step. The ultimate goal is a federal abortion ban. This goal was included in the Republican Party platform in 2016, which was ratified again in 2020. Specifically, the platform said that abortion was prohibited by the Constitution's 14th Amendment and called for legislation and a Constitutional amendment to make that "clear."
This is a very unpopular position. Currently, 80% of Americans — including 66% of Republicans — oppose a national abortion ban. The Trump campaign strategy for the 2024 GOP platform is to say much less about everything, including abortion. The previous GOP platform was 66 pages. The new GOP platform is 16 pages. The 2024 GOP platform continues to assert that fetuses are protected by the 14th Amendment. But it drops the explicit call for federal legislation and a Constitutional amendment.
The new language sounds slightly different and emphasizes state action. This is consistent with Trump's strategy of avoiding answering questions about abortion by claiming the issue should be left to the states. It is written to be more palatable to swing voters. But, substantively, the policy is exactly the same. The platform says the 14th Amendment protects the unborn, a position that would require a complete abortion ban. This position, if adopted by judges appointed by Trump, could impose a national abortion ban without legislation or a Constitutional amendment. But many media outlets fell for this sleight-of-hand and claimed that Republicans had moderated or "softened" their position on abortion.
These headlines are inaccurate. The truth is that the Republican Party's position on abortion has not changed. That's why anti-abortion groups who support a national abortion ban have embraced the new platform, citing its language on the 14th Amendment. On July 2, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, an anti-abortion group that aggressively advocates for a national abortion ban, released a letter warning Trump not "to remove national protections for the unborn in the GOP platform" and to continue its "ironclad commitment to protect the unborn." On July 8, the group announced that the language included in the new platform meets its demands. "It is important that the G.O.P. reaffirmed its commitment to protect unborn life today through the 14th Amendment," Marjorie Dannenfelser, the president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said in a statement. "Under this amendment, it is Congress that enacts and enforces its provisions. The Republican Party remains strongly pro-life at the national level." These statements are completely inconsistent with the notion that Trump "softened" the Republican position. But the media is allowing Trump to create two realities: one for swing voters and one for anti-abortion activists. |
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