Former President Donald Trump shot back at Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) on Monday after the loyal Trump supporter said he disagreed with the former president’s statement on abortion.
Trump said in a video statement released Monday morning that he opposes federal limitations on abortion and wants the issue to be decided by each state. The leading presidential candidate added that he “proudly” takes responsibility for the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022 but said different states will have various laws on abortion. Graham, who has proposed a 15-week federal limit on abortion, released his own statement, saying he “respectfully” disagrees with the former president.
“I respectfully disagree with President Trump’s statement that abortion is a states’ rights issue. Dobbs does not require that conclusion legally and the pro-life movement has always been about the wellbeing of the unborn child – not geography,” Graham said.
“The states’ rights only rationale today runs contrary to an American consensus that would limit late-term abortions and will age about as well as the Dred Scott decision,” he added. “The science is clear – a child at fifteen weeks is well-developed and is capable of feeling pain. I will continue to advocate that there should be a national minimum standard limiting abortion at fifteen weeks because the child is capable of feeling pain, with exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother.”
Trump fired back at Graham in a post on Truth Social, telling the senator to talk less about abortion and focus on addressing Biden’s border crisis and “the millions of people dying in senseless, never-ending Wars that he constantly favors and promotes.”
“The Democrats are thrilled with Lindsey, because they want this Issue to simmer for as long a period of time as possible,” Trump added. “They are destroying our Country, and they don’t want to talk about Inflation, a Bad Economy, the Horrible Open Border, Rigged Elections, Afghanistan, Ukraine/Russia, or the Attack on Israel, all of which would never have happened if I were President. Great job Lindsey!”
In a follow-up post, Trump ripped the South Carolina senator for “doing a great disservice to the Republican Party.”
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“At first he wanted no Abortions under any circumstances, then he was up to 6 weeks, where you’re allowed Abortion, now he’s up to 15 weeks, where you’re allowed Abortion, but what he doesn’t understand, or perhaps he does, is the Radical Left Democrats, who are destroying our Country, will never approve anything that he or the Republicans want,” Trump wrote. “They love this Issue, and they want to keep it going for as long as Republicans will allow them to do so. Terminating Roe v. Wade was, according to all Legal Scholars, a Great Event, but sometimes with Great Events come difficulties. Many Good Republicans lost Elections because of this Issue, and people like Lindsey Graham, that are unrelenting, are handing Democrats their dream of the House, Senate, and perhaps even the Presidency…”
Punchbowl News reporter Andrew Desiderio wrote that Graham responded to Trump’s criticism later on Monday, telling reporters, “The idea of the Republican Party abandoning the opposition to late-term abortion, I think would be a mistake… If you’re turning the pro-life movement into a geographical movement, I think you’re making a mistake.”
Democrats have pushed to make abortion “the pivotal issue of 2024″ even as immigration and the economy continue to top the list of issues for voters. The party has seen recent success in states like Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and Kansas when abortion is on the ballot.
Trump’s statement on abortion was also criticized by pro-life advocates such as Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America who said her group is “deeply disappointed in President Trump’s position.”
“Saying the issue is ‘back to the states’ cedes the national debate to the Democrats,” Dannenfelser added.
Daniel Chaitin contributed to this report.
This article has been updated to include remarks made by Sen. Graham.