Trump says abortion restrictions should be left to states, dodging a national ban

Former President Donald Trump said Monday that abortion laws should be left to the states, many of which have enacted new restrictions since he appointed Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn federal protections for the procedure.

In a 4½-minute video released on his Truth Social media platform, Trump falsely claimed that “we have abortion where everybody wanted it from a legal standpoint” in the wake of the Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision. A majority of Americans have consistently said in polling that they favor the Roe vs. Wade protections that the court dismantled.

“My view is, now that we have abortion where everybody wanted it from a legal standpoint, the states will determine by vote or legislation, or perhaps both, and whatever they decide must be the law of the land,” Trump said.

In doing so, he refused to take a position on the national ban that has been promoted by some of his staunchest allies, including Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and former White House aide Kellyanne Conway. In the past, Trump had hinted that he might embrace a national ban, referring to a 15- or 16-week threshold as a consensus position.