Vice President Kamala Harris was fact-checked in a community note on X and blasted by social media users after claiming on Sunday that former President Donald Trump would institute a federal abortion ban.
Harris tweeted, “Donald Trump would ban abortion nationwide. President @JoeBiden and I will do everything in our power to stop him and restore women’s reproductive freedom.” The vice president’s post came just three days after Trump said in his debate with President Joe Biden that he would not sign a federal abortion ban, a position he has taken throughout the 2024 presidential campaign.
The community note on X fact-checked Harris’ claim, stating, “President Trump has repeatedly said he will not sign a national abortion ban.” The fact-check also provided multiple links to news articles from legacy media outlets reporting on Trump’s abortion stance and a link to a video posted by Trump on Truth Social in April, where the former president said he wants the states and “the will of the people” to decide abortion laws.
Donald Trump would ban abortion nationwide.
President @JoeBiden and I will do everything in our power to stop him and restore women’s reproductive freedom.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) June 30, 2024
During the CNN debate on Thursday, Trump reiterated that he would not support federal bans on abortion or abortion pills. He also continued to defend the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade — which was partly accomplished thanks to three conservative justices appointed by Trump — and added that Democrats, such as Biden, are the “radicals” in the abortion debate.
“Under Roe v. Wade, you have late-term abortion. You can do whatever you want. Depending on the state, you can do whatever you want. We don’t think that’s a good thing. We think it’s a radical thing,” Trump said. “We think the Democrats are the radicals, not the Republicans.”
Biden promised during the debate that he would restore Roe v. Wade‘s pro-abortion protections.
Democrats and the Biden campaign have pushed the issue of abortion in the years following the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Wome’s Health Organization. In the past two years, the pro-abortion side has seen numerous successful elections — even in red states — when abortion is on the ballot.
Harris has made a habit of posting false claims about Trump’s abortion stance. She wrote on June 25 that “Trump would seek to ban abortion nationwide, with or without the help of Congress.” In a speech in May, the vice president accused Trump of “gaslighting” voters into believing he would not sign a national abortion ban.
“Enough with the gaslighting because we all know if Donald Trump gets the chance, he will sign a national abortion ban,” she said.
As the 2024 election nears, Trump and his presidential campaign have been strategic in how they address the abortion issue. While the former president said he supports states passing restrictions on abortion, he has come out against abortion laws passed in Arizona and Florida that he says are too conservative.