After promising to make a firm announcement on where he stands on abortion rights, former President Donald Trump said Monday that the issue should be left up to the states.
He made the announcement in a video released on his social media platform Truth Social. The presumptive Republican nominee fell short of taking a definitive position on what is likely to be a deciding issue for many voters come November.
“My view is now that we have abortion where everybody wanted it from a legal standpoint, 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. Many states will be different. Many will have a different number of weeks, or some will have more conservative than others. And that's what they will be,” Trump said in his video.
His remarks come as the U.S. waited to see if the former president would stand behind some sort of national ban. There had been previous reporting suggesting he would back a 15- or 16-week national ban. He has now made clear his official position is to leave abortion rights to the states.
In the video Trump also said he’s proudly responsible for the overturning of Roe v. Wade back in the summer of 2022. He had appointed three of the six justices who voted to take down the Roe v. Wade decision.
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President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee for the 2024 presidential election, was critical of Trump's stance, noting the difficulties some women face when trying to get an abortion.
"Women are being turned away from emergency rooms, forced to go to court to seek permission for the medical attention they need, and left to travel hundreds of miles for health care," President Biden said in a statement.
The president's stance on abortion rights is in direct contrast to Trump's. President Biden has called on Congress to restore federal protections that were in place after the Roe v. Wade decision.
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