(RepublicanReport.org) – Donald Trump faces mounting pressure as President Joe Biden recently started rising in the polls now that both parties have their presumptive nominees. The latest polling average from RealClear Politics on April 9 shows the former president leading Biden by 0.3 points, 46.2 to 45.9. A recent report indicated that Trump started panicking as his polling numbers slid downward.
On April 8, Newsweek published a report discussing Trump’s mounting concerns. The news outlet reported that the former president has started pivoting his hardline stance on reproductive rights as part of an effort to appeal to undecided voters.
Trump made abortion a key topic of discussion during the Republican primaries, at times taking credit for nominating pro-life judges to the Supreme Court. The nation’s highest court overturned Roe v. Wade in late June 2022. The six-to-three decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization sent questions regarding the legality and regulation of the controversial medical procedure to the states.
However, a recent Axios/Ipsos survey found that 72% of Americans supported a woman’s right to obtain a medical abortion, regardless of their party affiliation. Additionally, 81% said they think questions surrounding the procedure should remain between a woman and her physician and not the government, and 58% of participants indicated they were less likely to support a candidate who supported restricting access to abortions.
Trump recently vowed to release a statement regarding his position on abortion after an April 1 ruling by the Florida Supreme Court allowed the state’s six-week abortion law to stand, sparking mounting controversy over the former president’s past comments.
On April 8, the former president made good on that promise and released a roughly four-and-a-half-minute video on his Truth Social account discussing his stance on abortion. He began by vowing to support in-vitro fertilization. Pivoting to abortion, the former president reminded viewers that “Democrats are the radical ones” on the issue since they support the procedure “up to and beyond” the ninth month of pregnancy.
Continuing, Trump said the states would now decide questions regarding the legality of abortion through legislative action and by voting on ballot initiatives in the wake of SCOTUS’ Dobb’s decision. Whatever they choose “must be the law of the land.”
By kicking the issue back on the states, Trump avoided potentially damaging backlash to supporting a national ban. Pundits had expected him to announce his support for an abortion ban after 15 weeks.
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