AP
Aware that the majority of Americans are against restrictive policies against abortion, former President Donald Trump is carrying out a political maneuver to try to appear less radical, a movement insufficient to whiten his figure as the great standard-bearer of anti-abortionism.
Last Monday, in a calculated and programmed step, the virtual Republican presidential candidate published a video on his Truth Social network in which he ruled out promoting a nationwide ban and said that the legality of abortion should be left in the hands of each state.
And on Wednesday he claimed that Arizona “went too far” after the state's high court issued a ruling banning abortion unless the surrogate's life is in danger.
These attempts to soften himself clash with his repeated message in which he always boasts of having been the facilitator (by appointing conservative judges) for the Supreme Court (SC) to stop the Roe vs. Wade ruling in 2022, which had protected federal level abortion for decades.
In the opinion of Thomas Whalen, professor of Social Sciences at Boston University, the change in discourse is “a political calculation” motivated because he is concerned about Florida and some of the swing states, in which abortion will be “a crucial issue.” to decide who they will vote for,” for example, middle-class women.
Given how small the margins are in critical states such as Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, for Trump it could make the difference between winning and losing, since abortion will be at the center of voters' minds in November, he explained to EFE.
Since the end of the “Roe v. Wade” doctrine, more than twenty conservative states have carried out a frontal attack on women's rights by implementing restrictive anti-abortion laws.
All of this despite the fact that citizens at the polls have said yes to the freedom to choose in elections held in places like Ohio or Kentucky.
Until now, Trump had always seen attacks on abortion as a tactic to gain the support of radical conservatives, including MAGAs, the base of his electorate, and that is why he had leaned towards the so-called pro-life option.
This is what the professor of Political Science at the University of Ohio, Paul A. Beck, remembers to EFE, adding that before being a politician he seemed to be in favor of the right to choose, as part of his opposition to government interference in life. private.
But today the former president finds himself in a dilemma and is trying to attract votes from both parties, betting on ambiguous messages.
“He is not concerned about the hypocrisy of changing his position. The need to mobilize his base traps him in the pro-life option, but even so he will continue to circle around this issue and hope that it will fade away,” he says.
Quite the opposite will be done by the Democratic Party, which is putting abortion at the center of its campaign and is expected to remain that way.
The president, Joe Biden, mentions it frequently and the White House has put the vice president, Kamala Harris, as the spearhead in defending women's rights.
The president's campaign is investing heavily in television ads, especially in swing states, that criticize and expand Trump's anti-abortion message.
Despite the attempt to whitewash himself, for abortion rights organizations, Trump's words do not change anything.
“They are completely hollow and meaningless,” Sabrina Talukder, director of the Women's Initiative at the Center for American Progress Action Fund, tells EFE.
So, although Trump is now trying to appear more moderate, “nothing in his presidential record shows that he would not enact a national ban on abortion,” she maintains.
Planned Parenthood has a similar vision: “If the opportunity presents itself, Trump will sign any anti-abortion law placed before him,” they noted in a statement.
“Trump cannot be trusted and he will say whatever is necessary to return to the White House,” adds the organization, the largest in the United States that assists women with their reproductive health.
