Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a floor speech Tuesday that the American public will “see right through” former President Trump’s abortion stance, just a day after the former president said abortion law should be left to the states.
“Republicans and Donald Trump can try to hide their anti-abortion records all they want, but the American people will see right through it today, tomorrow and in November,” Schumer said.
Trump on Monday said laws on abortion in the wake of the Dobbs Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade should be left to the states, and he said he would not support federal legislation banning all abortions after 15 or 16 weeks.
In a video posted to his Truth Social site, Trump also said he was proud to have ended Roe v. Wade by appointing conservative Supreme Court justices.
“My view is now … we have abortion where everybody wanted it from a legal standpoint,” Trump said in the video. “The states will determine by vote or legislation or perhaps both, and whatever they decide must be the law of the land. In this case, the law of the state.”
He said many states will have different abortion laws. Some will be more conservative than others, he said, but “at the end of the day, this is all about the will of the people. You must follow your heart, or in many cases your religion or your faith.”
Schumer said Trump’s claims are a reminder to the country that “if there’s anyone to blame for the annihilation of Roe v. Wade and the grotesque reversal of women’s personal freedoms, it’s Donald Trump and the Republican Party.”
The New York senator said if Trump were reelected, he would add more conservative justices to the highest court so he can “continue his assault” on women’s reproductive rights.
Trump’s comments Monday are his most comprehensive about the divisive issue since he became the presumptive GOP nominee. His comments have drawn criticism from both sides.
Some Republicans criticized him for not backing a ban, while Democrats said voters should not trust that Trump as president will not sign anti-abortion laws given his record.