Trump says he wouldn’t sign a national abortion ban

Former President Trump on Wednesday said he would not sign a national abortion ban if reelected and such a bill passed Congress. The Biden campaign quickly dismissed him as a “liar,” citing his record on the issue.

Trump was asked by reporters in Georgia if he would sign a national abortion ban if it reached his desk.

“No,” Trump responded, shaking his head.

Those comments came during the same interaction with reporters in which he called the overturning of Roe v. Wade an “incredible achievement” and stressed abortion policy should be determined by individual states, even as he criticized an Arizona law for going too far.

“Now the states have it, and the states are putting out what they want. It’s the will of the people,” he said. “So Florida’s probably going to change. Arizona is going to definitely change, everybody wants that to happen. And you’re getting the will of the people. It’s been pretty incredible when you think about it.”

The Biden campaign and its allies were quick to dismiss Trump’s comments, pointing to his track record on abortion to argue the former president would threaten access to the procedure if he is reelected.

“Donald Trump is a lying liar,” Biden campaign spokesperson Ammar Moussa wrote on the social platform X. “He endorsed a national abortion ban when he was president in 2018. His allies are talking about how they can ban abortion with or without Congress. Give me a break.”

Michael Tyler, the Biden campaign’s communications director, said in a statement that Trump “lies constantly — about everything — but has one track record: banning abortion every chance he gets.”

“The guy who wants to be a dictator on day one will use every tool at his disposal to ban abortion nationwide, with or without Congress, and running away from reporters to his private jet like a coward doesn’t change that reality,” Tyler said.

Trump earlier this week released a four-minute video statement in which he declined to say whether he would support federal legislation restricting abortion. Instead, he said it should be left up to the states either by legislation or by vote.

That view was immediately tested by an Arizona court ruling Tuesday that upheld an 1864 law that made performing abortion a felony. 

As president, Trump’s White House supported a House bill that banned most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy and urged the Senate to pass the legislation and send it to his desk. The measure did not make it through the Senate, however.

A federal abortion ban would likely face a steep climb through Congress, where both chambers are expected to be narrowly divided after the 2024 elections.

But abortion advocates have warned a second Trump administration — even without action from Congress — could further restrict access to abortion medication and otherwise roll back access to the procedure.