Donald Trump 'Privately' Supports 16-week National Abortion Ban but Fears 'Alienating Social Conservatives' Over Issue: Report
Donald Trump “privately” supports a national abortion ban that would prohibit the procedure after 16 weeks of pregnancy, RadarOnline.com has learned.
In a surprising development to come after the GOP primary frontrunner has largely remained quiet about the controversial issue, sources close to Trump revealed this week that he “privately” supports a national abortion ban.
According to New York Times reporter and Trump biographer Maggie Haberman, the former president is waiting until he secures the GOP presidential nomination before publicly discussing his stance on the national abortion ban issue.
Haberman also reported that Trump believes that there should be three exceptions to a potential 16-week national abortion ban – including instances where a woman becomes pregnant through rape, incest, or if carrying out the pregnancy to full term would threaten the mother’s life.
“Former President Donald J. Trump has told advisers and allies that he likes the idea of a 16-week national abortion ban with three exceptions, in cases of rape or incest, or to save the life of the mother, according to two people with direct knowledge of Mr. Trump’s deliberations,” Haberman and fellow Times reporter Jonathan Swan reported.
“Mr. Trump has studiously avoided taking a clear position on restrictions to abortion since Roe v. Wade was overturned in the middle of 2022, galvanizing Democrats ahead of the midterm elections that year,” the pair continued.
According to Haberman and Swan, Trump is hesitant to publicly discuss his support for a 16-week national abortion ban because he does not want to “risk alienating social conservatives” over the controversial issue.
“He has said in private that he wants to wait until the Republican presidential primary contest is over to publicly discuss his views, because he doesn’t want to risk alienating social conservatives before he has secured the nomination, the two people said,” the pair reported on Friday.
“Mr. Trump has approached abortion transactionally since becoming a candidate in 2015, and his current private discussions reflect that same approach,” the Times reporters added.
Also surprising was a conversation that ex-President Trump allegedly had regarding the national abortion ban issue.
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According to a Trump insider who spoke to Haberman and Swan on the condition of anonymity, the ex-president favors a 16-week national abortion ban because 16 weeks is an “even four months.”
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“Know what I like about 16?” Trump allegedly said during the private conversation. “It’s even. It’s four months.”
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, a potential national abortion ban has served as one of the main election issues ever since the Supreme Court voted to overturn Roe v. Wade back in June 2022.
Several political experts have credited the issue as the driving factor behind a series of surprising Republican defeats in elections since Roe v. Wade’s reversal.
Haberman noted that Trump is “acutely aware” that a national abortion ban is unpopular with most American voters, and she indicated that that is why the ex-president is so hesitant to publicly address the issue before securing the GOP presidential nomination at the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee in July.