Trump’s Changing Messages on Abortion, in 670 Quotes

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Trump’s Changing Messages on *********, in 670 Quotes

When he first ran for president, Donald J. Trump talked repeatedly about his opposition to *********. “I’m pro-life, and I was originally pro-choice,” he said in 2016. Another time that year, he said, “I am pro-life, and I will be appointing pro-life judges.” In total in 2016, according to a New York Times analysis, he described himself as “pro-life” 36 times:

.

In this campaign, though, he hardly ever uses the term. This year, he has described himself as “pro-life” once:

.

During his re-election campaign in 2020, Mr. Trump often spoke of his support for a federal ban on abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. In total, before the Supreme Court decision that ended the national right to ********* in 2022, he expressed his support for a federal ban 50 times:

.

Since the court’s decision, Dobbs v. Jackson, which allowed individual states to ban *********, he has expressed support for a federal ban only once

, saying, “It could be a state ban, it could be a federal ban.”

More often, he has said the exact opposite, that he opposes a federal ban. Since the court’s decision, he has said that 11 times:

. “I’m not signing a ban, and there’s no reason to sign a ban”; “There will not be a federal ban”; “I’m not signing a national ********* bill.”

We looked at all the statements Mr. Trump has made about ********* since he first ran for president, in speeches, interviews and posts online, that were cataloged by Roll Call

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. We categorized 670 of them based on the words he used. The analysis shows how his messaging over the last decade has changed with the political moment — and how this year he has tried to distance himself from the core beliefs of the anti-********* movement.

Trump’s Statements on ********* Before and After Dobbs

The way Donald Trump has talked about ********* changed after the Dobbs decision. Below, a comparison of the themes Mr. Trump mentioned most in his public statements, based on a Times analysis.

Some statements appear in more than one theme.

There is no evidence that Mr. Trump’s stance on ********* has changed. As president, he did more to restrict ********* rights in the ******* States than any other president, including by appointing three of the six Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade. As recently as the September debate, he took credit, saying, “I did a great service in doing it.”

As it became clear that the Dobbs decision was hurting some *********** candidates, however, he changed his messaging, sometimes directly contradicting himself. He said as much in April, when he

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emphasizing that Republicans needed to talk about ********* in a way that would appeal to voters: “You must follow your heart on this issue. But remember, you must also win elections.”

Karoline Leavitt, the Trump campaign’s national press secretary, said that Mr. Trump had been consistent in his stance on *********, and that he had always supported the rights of states to make decisions on ********* rights.

Mr. Trump’s ambiguous or even contradictory statements can allow voters to hear whichever message they want to hear, political analysts said.

Jason Rapert, founder and president of the National Association of ********** Lawmakers, which supports a nationwide ********* ban, said, “I think we should remember the Donald Trump of 2016, and what he was saying from his heart, and he made good on those policy decisions.”

Mr. Rapert said he was “extremely disappointed” to hear Mr. Trump say he did not support a federal ********* ban. But he does not necessarily believe him, he said: “I realized that he really is delivering messaging that came from many of the consultants around him.”

Celinda Lake, a Democratic pollster, said Mr. Trump was giving mixed messages because he was trying to hold onto the support of evangelical voters while also trying to win back moderates who have turned against him because of his role in overturning Roe.

“It’s a winning strategy with evangelicals — you never hear born-again Christians are defecting; they’re not,” Ms. Lake said. “It’s been a loss with suburban women, with younger women, with the moderate *********** women who now call themselves independents, and he’s been trying to figure out a way to get them back.”

In her polling and focus groups, she said, many voters have never really believed that Mr. Trump opposes *********. His recent rhetoric “just reinforces that his heart’s not really in it, he doesn’t really believe this,” she said. “But on the other hand, the MAGA party does believe in it, and his political calculations are such that he did Dobbs and he will continue to do more.”

Trump’s evolution

Before he became a national political figure, Mr. Trump had

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as “very pro-choice,” so in his initial run for president as a ***********, he repeatedly emphasized that he had abandoned that position.

“I am pro-life”

Times Trump described himself as “pro-life,” by quarter

Mr. Trump was courting the evangelical wing of the *********** Party, whose votes he needed. He promised to appoint “pro-life judges” to the Supreme Court. He made ********* restrictions a staple of his 2016 campaign, speaking often about how important the issue was.

********* is an important issue

Times Trump said ********* is an important issue, by quarter

After he was elected, Mr. Trump kept many of his promises to the anti-********* movement. He enacted several regulatory policies that limited funding for ********* and organizations that supported it. He appointed three justices to the Supreme Court from a list of candidates pre-approved by the anti-********* movement.

As he approached his re-election campaign, he supported a bill in Congress that would have banned abortions nationwide after 20 weeks of pregnancy. The bill was a major theme of campaign rallies, and was featured in his 2020 State of the Union address and a speech that year at the March for Life, the anti-********* movement’s biggest annual event. He was the first sitting president to speak there.

He called on Congress to “defend the dignity of life and to pass legislation prohibiting late-term ********* of children who can feel pain in their mother’s womb.”

Supports federal restrictions

Times Trump said he supports federal ********* restrictions, by quarter

After the Dobbs decision overturning the right to ********* in 2022, Mr. Trump often celebrated his role in it: “If you look at what we’ve done with Roe v. Wade, we did something that everyone said couldn’t be done, and we got it done.”

At the presidential debate with Vice President Kamala Harris in September, he again praised Dobbs, and “the genius and heart and strength” of the Supreme Court justices who supported it.

Later that month, he extolled his record on the issue: “I’ve done an unbelievable job on the ********* question.”

He often said that all Americans or “all legal scholars” supported the court’s decision to overturn Roe, despite

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majorities and

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that opposed it.

During this campaign, though, he has sent mixed messages. At first, he said he would

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a Florida measure expanding ********* access, then said he wouldn’t. He said he

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to ********* pills, then

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.

He has not always directly answered questions about his personal views on *********. Often, he avoids it by embracing the fact that Dobbs allowed states to restrict and ban *********: “It doesn’t matter because this issue has now been taken over by the states.”

Before Dobbs, he did not say much about believing ********* should be decided by the states. Now, he says it instead of answering questions about new federal policies he might pursue as president.

His

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also emphasizes that ********* rights are a decision for the states, saying only that the party opposes “late-term *********.” Then it shifts to other topics, like support for prenatal care, and access to birth control and in vitro fertilization.

He also deflects by saying the Democrats have taken extreme positions: “The ********* are really the Democrats because they’ll ***** ******* in their eighth and ninth month and they’ll ***** ******* after birth.” In fact, infanticide is ******** in every state. Arguments about Democratic extremism were also a staple of his 2020 re-election campaign speeches, but he is talking about that even more now.

He has also recently repeated his support for exceptions to ********* bans for women who are victims of ***** or *******, or whose lives are threatened by their pregnancies. These statements somewhat conflict with his embrace of state-based approaches to ********* policy, since

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with ********* bans do not have these exceptions.

Melania Trump, the former first lady, published a book this month in which she said she supported ********* rights, a surprise that some political analysts said was a calculated move to appeal to more moderate voters.

For much of this campaign, Mr. Trump declined to say whether he would veto a federal ********* ban.

Then, in recent weeks, he changed course again, saying that he would veto a federal ban, in direct opposition to the goals of the anti-********* movement. He said in an online message earlier this month: “Everyone knows I would not support a federal ********* ban, under any circumstances, and would, in fact, veto it, because it is up to the states to decide based on the will of their voters.”

Otherwise, Mr. Trump is not talking much about how he would handle ********* policy from the executive branch. Regardless of who wins the election, major federal legislation on the topic is unlikely to pass Congress in the next few years.

Instead, he has begun saying ********* is not an important issue: “The country’s falling apart,” he said recently. “We’re going to end up in World War III, and all they can talk about is *********. That’s all they talk about. And it really no longer pertains because we’ve done something on ********* that nobody thought was possible.”

But the president still has major influence on ********* access nationwide, through regulations and executive actions. In Mr. Trump’s last administration, he cut federal funding to Planned Parenthood for contraceptive services. He appointed numerous federal judges who oppose ********* rights. If elected again, he could also use the Food and ***** Administration or the Justice Department to ban or restrict the mailing of ********* pills, which have contributed to increased ********* access since Dobbs.

“I know he’s steering clear with only days left until the election,” said Mr. Rapert of the National Association of ********** Lawmakers, “but clearly the federal government can do more.”

The complete list of Trump’s statements on *********

Here is a list of Mr. Trump’s statements on ********* since 2015, organized by topic.

********* is an important issue Identifies as ‘pro-life’ Supports federal restrictions Exceptions for *****, ******* and survival Favors state solutions Opposes federal restrictions Democrats are ******** Praises Dobbs Does not consider ********* an important issue

********* is an important issue

Oct. 2016

“We’re going to pick justices in the mold of Judge Scalia, Justice Scalia, *************, pro-life. We’re going to pick Second Amendment people, people that respect the Second Amendment. And we’ve put out a list all vetted by federalists, Federalist Society, highly recommended by them. And we have a list of 20 judges, and we’re putting them out.”

Breitbart News interview

May 2018

“Got to get out and vote. We are nine votes away from passing the 20-week ********* bill in the Senate, so we have to get them out there.”

Susan B. Anthony Campaign for Life Gala speech

Jan. 2019

“I am supporting the U.S. Senate’s effort to make permanent the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits taxpayer funding for ********* in spending bills. Today I have signed a letter to Congress to make clear that if they send any legislation to my desk that weakens the protection of human life, I will issue a veto.”

March for Life speech

June 2020

“I think I’ll have close to 300 judges by the time I finished my first term, hopefully, a lot more than that, but it’s — it’s a record number and, uh, we have pro-life, these are pro-life judges.”

********** Broadcasting Network interview

Oct. 2020

“By the way, if you’re pro-life, they will wipe that out so fast. They’ll wipe out every one of your rights. They’re gonna pack it. They’re gonna pack your court. They’re gonna get rid of the filibuster. They’re gonna do things like you wouldn’t believe. They’re gonna add D.C, so they pick up another couple of senators, right?”

Rally, Pensacola, Fla.

Oct. 2020

“I am the only thing between you and pro-life. I am the only thing. I’m the only thing. I’m by myself. I’m all by myself.”

Rally, Lititz, Pa.

Sept. 2023

“At the same time, we have to win elections. Otherwise, we’ll be back where we were. In order to win in 2024, Republicans must learn how to properly talk about *********. I was watching some of these people. I won’t say where, but states. OK, Pennsylvania, Michigan, good candidates, very good candidates. I was watching them get clobbered because they didn’t understand the issue.”

Rally, Dubuque, Iowa

Sept. 2024

“You will no longer be abandoned, lonely or scared. You will no longer be in danger. You’re not going to be in danger any longer. You will no longer have anxiety from all of the problems our country has today. You will be protected, and I will be your protector. Women will be happy, healthy, confident and free.”

Rally in Indiana, Pa.

Show -8 More

Methodology

Transcriptions and related metadata were provided by Roll Call FactBa.se.

The analysis included transcripts from every public appearance by Mr. Trump, including every speech, interview, rally and debate, during his campaigns in 2016, 2020 and 2024 (through Oct. 23) and during his presidency. It includes appearances after he left office and before he started his campaign in late 2023, but some small appearances in this ******* may have been missed.

Also included in the data set is every public appearance that ran on C-SPAN or was posted on Rumble or

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, and every tweet and Truth Social post on Mr. Trump’s accounts, including over 300 deleted posts.

The authors searched this database for mentions of keywords related to *********, then manually categorized individual quotations. Some statements were included in more than one category.

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#Trumps #Changing #Messages #********* #Quotes

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