President Biden’s reelection campaign is reminding voters that former President Donald Trump took credit for the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, in the aftermath of an election in which the abortion issue fueled Democratic wins in red and purple states.
The Biden-Harris campaign rolled out an online video Wednesday featuring a smattering of past clips in which Mr. Trump said he was honored to end Roe v. Wade, said there has to be “some form of punishment” for women who receive abortions, and said the federal government has a role to play in “protecting unborn life.”
“As Republicans lose elections across the country for their extreme abortion positions, remember that this is who they are on track to make their presidential nominee,” the Biden-Harris HQ account posted on X. Mr. Trump is the frontrunner for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, seeking a rematch with Mr. Biden.
The attack came hours after Democrats from Kentucky to Ohio and Virginia declared victory Tuesday in races in which they put abortion front and center, forcing voters to decide whether they support elected leaders imposing stricter abortion limits.
Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky won a second term against state Attorney General Daniel Cameron, an up-and-coming Republican who backed an abortion ban that did not include carve-outs for cases of rape and incest.
Democrats in Virginia won control of both chambers of the state legislature after making the race a referendum on Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s embrace of a 15-week abortion ban with exceptions.
SEE ALSO: Ohio passes amendment to enshrine abortion rights in state constitution
Voters in Ohio, meanwhile, easily passed a citizen-sponsored measure to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution.
For his part, Mr. Trump has called himself “the most pro-life president in American history” and reminded GOP primary voters that his Supreme Court appointees led to the overturning of Roe v Wade, the landmark 1973 court case that made abortion a constitutional right.
Mr. Trump has said the high court was right to kick the issue back to the states. But he has been reluctant to endorse federal abortion bans, including the push for a limit of 15 weeks, while making it clear he supports exceptions for cases of rape, incest and the life of the mother.
Mr. Trump also left pro-life leaders fuming after he blamed the GOP’s disappointing showing in the 2022 midterms on candidates who endorsed strict abortion limits.
The former president has said Republicans need to rethink the way they talk about the issue, saying they should cast Democrats as “the radicals” on the issue.
He also has criticized the six-week abortion ban that Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida signed into law in Florida, calling it a “terrible mistake.”
At the same time, he has taken credit for making it possible for Florida and other states, including Iowa, where the Jan. 15 caucuses kick off the nomination race, to adopt such laws.
Democrats say Mr. Trump cannot hide the fact that women would still have the right to abortion across the nation if it were not for the moves he made as president.
“Donald Trump is responsible for all of it — and he’s ’proud’ to have done it!” Ammar Moussa, director of the Biden campaign’s rapid response team, said on social media.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.