He's Trumped himself!
Big mouth billionaire Donald Trump reached a new low Wednesday — offending women and pro-choice groups with an abrasive comment about criminalizing those who choose to have an abortion.
If abortion were illegal, “there has to be some form of punishment” for women who have one, Trump told MSNBC’s Chris Matthews after the host posed the hypothetical question.
“You have to ban,” Trump said after a heated and extended exchange with Matthews, who pressed him on what form the punishment would take.
He noted that if abortion were barred, women could still go to “illegal places” to have one.
“Well, you go back to a position like they had where they would perhaps go to illegal places, but we have to ban it,” Trump said.
“I haven’t determined what the punishment should be,” Trump said, during the MSNBC taping of a town hall in Green Bay, Wis., that aired Wednesday night.
“I am pro-life,” declared Trump, who has also frequently claimed on the campaign trail to “cherish” women.
“@realDonaldTrump is vocalizing the motivations of every politician who votes to restrict access to abortion. It’s about controlling women,” wrote Cecile Richards.
Kate Black, vice president of research at Emily’s List, which supports pro-choice Democrats running for office, reminded Trump of women’s voting power.
“Facts for #Trump: 1 in 3 women will have an abortion. 99% of women use birth control. In 2012, 71.4 million of us voted. Women are watching,” she tweeted.
“If Trump’s words about women — calling us ‘disgusting,’ ‘slobs’ and ‘fat pigs’ — didn’t scare us, this should,” she added.
But it wasn’t just the pro-choice activists Trump riled up — he angered pro-lifers as well.
“We have never advocated, in any context, for the punishment of women who undergo abortion,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the national pro-life group Susan B. Anthony List.
“As a convert to the pro-life movement, Mr. Trump sees the reality of the horror of abortion,” Dannenfelser added. “But let us be clear: Punishment is solely for the abortionist who profits off of the destruction of one life and the grave wounding of another.”
The pro-life group March for Life tweeted that “No pro-lifer would ever want to punish a woman who has chosen abortion. This is against the very nature of what we are about.”
The comment came as Trump tries to lock in a win in Wisconsin’s April 5 primary — a key contest in his battle with GOP rivals Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich.
As the backlash mounted Wednesday, Trump did his usual flip-flop and changed positions — issuing two statements to try and clarify his stance.
“This issue is unclear and should be put back into the states for determination,” Trump said in his first attempt at a backtrack.
“Like Ronald Reagan, I am pro-life with exceptions, which I have outlined numerous times,” he said in the statement that was emailed to Bloomberg News.
By mid-afternoon, Trump was forced to speak up again — this time claiming he meant abortion doctors would be punished, not the “victim” women.
“If Congress were to pass legislation making abortion illegal and the federal courts upheld this legislation, or any state were permitted to ban abortion under state and federal law, the doctor or any other person performing this illegal act upon a woman would be held legally responsible, not the woman,” Trump said.
“The woman is a victim ...as is the life in her womb,” he added.
That didn’t stop Cruz’s campaign from gleefully capitalizing on Trump’s misstep.
“Don’t overthink it: Trump doesn’t understand the pro-life position because he’s not pro-life,” snarked Cruz staffer Brian Phillips in a tweet.
The not-so-subtle jab was a reminder that Trump’s been criticized by conservatives for altering his abortion views recently — while Cruz has remained zealously pro-life. Trump now claims his formerly supportive position has evolved to allow for abortion only in the case of rape, incest or to save a mother’s life.
But Cruz dodged a similar question in 2015 when asked if women getting abortions should be prosecuted. Instead, Cruz talked about why reporters didn’t ask President Obama about his voter record on the issue.
Kasich, who defunded Planned Parenthood as governor of Ohio, also waived away Trump’s initial comments, telling MSNBC “of course” women shouldn’t be criminalized.
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