Trump has recently tried to present himself as more moderate on abortion restrictions, but Vance is as radical as they come.

Republicans have a problem: Their base insists on a nationwide forced-birth law, but political realists in the party understand this is a hugely unpopular position, and one that might lead to electoral disaster. The tactical solution: Hide their abortion extremism while winking to the base.

The Post reported, “The new Republican platform still includes language that links abortion to the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, leaving open a path to legislation or court decisions that would grant fetuses additional legal rights.” That said, “the 16-page document nevertheless infuriated some antiabortion advocates within the party, who view the watered-down language as a faithless betrayal of a core part of the GOP base.” Former president and current Republican candidate Donald Trump now claims he is content to leave the matter to the states.

But when Trump named Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) as his running mate, any pretense of abortion moderation went out the window. Few voters think Republicans might moderate their stance with someone on the ticket who wants to ban abortion without exceptions for rape or incest.

Advertisement

It is inconceivable that Trump would refuse to sign a nationwide prohibition on abortion if it landed on his desk. He owes his political career in large part to the devotion of White evangelicals, for whom abortion under any circumstances is anathema. He brags that his Supreme Court picks reversed Roe v. Wade. Just as Trump’s denial of any knowledge of Project 2025 (drafted by over 140 of his former aides and championed by the Heritage Foundation, a sponsor of the Republican convention) is not fooling anyone, neither should the platform mislead voters. This remains an extremist party when it comes to abortion.

The selection of Vance clarified the party’s absolutism. Mini Timmaraju, president and CEO of Reproductive Freedom for All, put out a statement following the Vance announcement: “Make no mistake, Trump picked him because of — not in spite of — his anti-abortion bona fides. … Vance has worked in lockstep with extremist Republicans in the Senate to undermine reproductive freedom — refusing to back down from the dangerous abortion bans and restrictions his party has engineered.” She then ticked off the list of his radical positions, which includes favoring an abortion ban without exceptions for rape or incest and opposition to a bill protecting IVF.

Trump, opportunistically, has been all over the map when it comes to abortion: He has swung from a pro-choice Democrat, to a rigid antiabortion Republican who once insisted women should be “punished” for abortions, to someone who said he would consider limits on contraception, to someone denying he suggested any such thing. However, with an ideologue such as Vance at his side, abortion-ban advocates can be reassured that Trump will not stray from their........

© Washington Post