After waffling, Trump says he'd veto national abortion ban
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Former President Trump during a campaign rally on Sept. 25 in Mint Hill, N.C. Photo: Brandon Bell/Getty Images
During Tuesday's vice presidential debate, former President Trump announced on Truth Social that he would veto a national abortion ban — an issue on which he'd been waffling for months.
Why it matters: Trump's post came less than 35 days until the election, and as polling indicates that Vice President Harris has a clear edge among women voters and on abortion rights.
- Abortion has been a weak spot for Republicans in the post-Roe era — and Democrats repeatedly have hit Trump over his bragging about appointing three Supreme Court justices who struck down abortion rights under Roe v. Wade, and over the health care chaos the decision has created.
- The Harris campaign often points out that Trump, as part of his efforts to curry favor with hardline conservatives who want a national abortion ban, has signaled his openness to such a ban.
Driving the news: "EVERYONE KNOWS I WOULD NOT SUPPORT A FEDERAL ABORTION BAN, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, AND WOULD, IN FACT, VETO IT," Trump wrote on his Truth Social.
- Trump has said that abortion regulations should be left to the states. Democrats say that's creating a hodgepodge of laws that can give women in some states significantly more rights over their health and bodies than women have in other states.
- Just last month, Harris said during the presidential debate that Trump would sign a national abortion ban into law if he wins the election. Trump replied: "It's a lie. I'm not signing a ban ... because we've gotten what everybody wanted."
- When asked during that debate about about his running mate JD Vance's comments that Trump would veto a national abortion ban if elected, Trump said he "didn't discuss it with JD."
- Vance, an Ohio senator, later said that he "learned my lesson on speaking for the president before he and I have actually talked about an issue."
Trump's post Tuesday came as Vance was asked about abortion during the VP debate. Vance said the "Republican Party has got to do so much better of a job at earning the American people's trust back on this issue where they, frankly, just don't trust us."
Between the lines: Trump is trying to win back some women voters without alienating anti-abortion advocates who have long been outspoken members of the GOP and are among his most loyal followers.
Go deeper: Swing states to test Biden's abortion-rights push
