Republican vice presidential hopeful Sen. JD Vance indicated that former President Donald Trump would vote any federal legislation to ban abortion nationwide — yet another illustration of how the 45th president is seeking to distance himself from hardliners in his party on the wedge issue.
Since April, Trump, 78, has been adamant that he’d defer to the states on the controversial procedure, but Democrats have continued to accuse him of plotting a national ban after he took credit for the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.
When asked by NBC’s Kristen Welker whether a President Trump would veto a federal abortion ban, Vance responded:
“I can absolutely commit that, Kristen. Donald Trump has been as clear about that as possible,” Vance (R-Ohio), 40, told NBC’s “Meet the Press” in an interview airing Sunday.
“Donald Trump wants to end this culture war over this particular topic,” he went on. “We want the federal government to focus on these big economic and immigration questions. Let the states figure out their own abortion policy.”
A deluge of polls have indicated that abortion is one of Trump’s most pronounced vulnerabilities heading into the Nov. 5 presidential election and the former president has been keen on pacifying that weakness.
During the Democratic National Convention last week, Vice President Kamala Harris alleged that Trump “and his allies” would “ban medication abortion and enact a nationwide abortion ban with or without Congress.”
Not long after Harris’ jab, Trump raised eyebrows on Truth Social, declaring that “My Administration will be great for women and their reproductive rights.”
Trump finds himself in a bind on abortion, wary of being too off-putting toward independent voters, while simultaneously not trying to alienate his base, which is full of anti-abortion voters.
Democrats have highlighted Trump’s past remarks on abortion such as boasting that “I was able to kill Roe v. Wade.” The former president has often tried to fixate on late-term abortions, something that polls generally indicate is less popular with the public.
“I think he’s been very clear he would not support it,” Vance responded when asked about Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-SC) push for a federal ban. Graham has pushed for a 15-week ban.
“I think he would. He said that explicitly that he would,” Vance added when pressed whether Trump would veto such legislation.
Trump had privately floated different middle-ground approaches to abortion before coming out in April and calling for the states to take charge. While opposing federal intervention, he also came out against a near-total ban in Arizona on the procedure, which was later rolled back.
Back in 2018, Trump urged Congress to pass a 20-week ban on the procedure.
Vance has a lengthy history of advocating against abortion, but since joining the Trump ticket, he has refrained from letting there be daylight between him and the 45th president.
“There’s something comparable between abortion and slavery, and that while the people who obviously suffer the most are those subjected to it, I think it has this morally distorting effect on the entire society,” Vance previously said back in a 2022 interview.
Other Republicans, such as former Vice President Mike Pence and a slew of anti-abortion groups have found themselves frustrated with Trump’s evolved stance on abortion.
