Has Abortion Eclipsed Trump’s Campaign?
Americast
BBC
4.3 • 3.1K Ratings
🗓️ 12 April 2024
⏱️ 35 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In a heavily-trailed announcement on Monday, Donald Trump released a video on his Truth Social platform to announce his position on abortion.
Having been considered one of the most anti-abortion presidents in history, he has now said it is a matter for states to decide and later confirmed he would not sign a federal abortion ban.
His stance has led to a backlash from senior Republicans, including his former vice president, Mike Pence. Could the backlash extend to the ballot box in November?
HOSTS: • Marianna Spring, disinformation and social media correspondent • Justin Webb, Radio 4 presenter • Anthony Zurcher, North America correspondent
GUEST: • Lisa Lerer, political correspondent for The New York Times
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This episode was made by George Dabby with Rufus Gray, Natasha Mayo, Catherine Fusillo, and Claire Betzer. The technical producer was Emma Crowe. The series producer is George Dabby. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, music, radio podcasts. |
| 0:05.0 | On this episode we're going to be talking about abortion rights and how different politicians |
| 0:08.4 | are aligning themselves ahead of the upcoming US election. This week Arizona Supreme Court ruled the state can |
| 0:14.8 | enforce an 160 year old near total ban on abortion and it's a week where the |
| 0:20.6 | issue of abortion rights has been pretty high up the political agenda, |
| 0:24.3 | Donald Trump actually took to truth social as he does often and decided to set out what he thinks |
| 0:30.3 | about abortion saying that it was up for states to decide what they think on abortion rights. |
| 0:36.0 | 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 |
| 0:46.8 | the state many states so you might be thinking hang on a second I'm not sure |
| 0:51.3 | that's what Donald Trump was saying before about |
| 0:53.8 | abortion rights. It's quite different what he said this week to what he's said |
| 0:57.9 | previously, particularly for example when he ran for office back in 2016. This is what he had to say during an MS NBC town hall where he was |
| 1:06.0 | laying out his position. Do you believe in punishment for abortion? Yes or no? Is a principle? |
| 1:10.3 | The answer is that there has to be some form of punishment for the woman. |
| 1:15.2 | Yeah, it has to be some form 10 years. |
| 1:17.8 | I don't know that I don't know that I don't know. I don't know. I don't |
| 1:20.3 | You take positions and everything else I frankly I do take positions and everything. And it is very, very different to how he spoke about this issue back in 1999 just when I was only three years old. I can see Justin going on the other side of the room. |
| 1:33.0 | NBC's Meet the Press. |
| 1:35.0 | This is what you have to say. |
| 1:36.0 | Would President Trump ban partial birth abort? |
| 1:39.0 | Well, look, I'm very pro-choice. |
| 1:42.0 | I hate the concept of abortion I hate it I hate everything it stands for I |
... |
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