News Orgs Botch Trump's Statement on Abortion By Leaving Important Context Out of Headlines

He said the states *will* determine, not that they *should*.

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On Monday, presidential candidate Donald Trump released a video statement about his view on abortion policy via Truth Social. In it, he says that he “proudly” ended Roe v Wade, but sidesteps the question of whether or not he’d sign or veto legislation to limit abortion at a federal level or appoint judges who would further restrict existing abortion rights.

Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images

I have transcribed the relevant portion below:

Many people have asked me what my position is on abortion and abortion rights, especially since I was proudly the person responsible for the ending of something that all legal scholars, both sides, wanted and in fact demanded be ended. Roe v Wade. They wanted it ended. It must be remembered that the Democrats are the radical ones on this position because they support abortion up to and even beyond the ninth month. The concept of having an abortion in the later months and even execution after birth, and that's exactly what it is. The baby is born, the baby is executed after birth is unacceptable, and almost everyone agrees with that. 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. 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. Do what's right for your family and do what's right for yourself. Do what's right for your children. Do what's right for our country and vote. So important to vote. At the end of the day, it's all about will of the people. That's where we are right now, and that's what we want, the will of the people.

I want to thank the six justices, Chief Justice John Roberts, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, and Neil Gorsuch, incredible people, for having the courage to allow this long-term, hard-fought battle to finally end. This 50-year battle over Roe v. Wade took it out of the federal hands and brought it into the hearts, minds, and vote of the people in each state. It was really something. Now it's up to the states to do the right thing. Like Ronald Reagan, I am strongly in favor of exceptions for rape, incest, and the life of the mother. You must follow your heart on this issue, but remember, you must also win elections to restore our culture and, in fact, to save our country, which is currently and very sadly a nation in decline.

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What do NBC News, The New York Times, CNN, Axios, CBS News, NPR, ABC News, The Washington Post, The Hill, Forbes, Politico, Financial Times, the Associated Press, and The Wall Street Journal have in common?

On Monday, they all botched their reporting of Trump’s statement on abortion policy by inaccurately stating in headlines that he believes abortion rights should be left up to individual states to figure out.

As Semafor Washington Editor Jordan Weissman noted on X, “If you actually listen to Trump’s statement on abortion, he doesn’t say ‘should’ be left to the states. He says ‘will’ be left to the state[s]. It’s just a statement of what the law is. He leaves unsaid what would happen if a ban crosses his desk.”

And Mississippi Free Press News Editor Ashton Pittman observed:

The way the national mainstream media is rushing to repeat Trump's claim that he is moderating his position on abortion—after he intentionally ensured the overturning of Roe v. Wade—sure is something. We have too many stenographers and too few truth-tellers.

Unless he comes right out and says that he would veto federal restrictions, then this sort of reporting is downright irresponsible.

Recommended reading:

“News outlets help Trump obfuscate his abortion position” (Media Matters for America, Matt Gertz, 4/8/24)

Former President Donald Trump’s strategy of ducking questions on abortion requires mainstream reporters to let him off the hook and leave pro-choice swing voters with the false impression that he is more moderate than he actually is. So far, it’s working.

Major news outlets are falsely claiming that Trump said abortion “should be left to the states” in a video announcement Monday on his Truth Social platform. In fact, Trump said only that abortion “will” be left to the states, a statement of law that does not address how he would respond if Congress passed a federal abortion ban or how regulators would treat abortion under a second Trump administration.

“Trump's Abortion Announcement: It Doesn’t Mean Shit” (Abortion Everyday, Jessica Valenti, 4/8/24)

The thing that’s most important to know is that this ‘announcement’ doesn’t mean shit—at least, not in terms of how dangerous another Trump presidency would be. Conservatives’ abortion plan for a second Trump administration has never been reliant on a national ban, because they know they might not be able to get the votes. Instead, the focus is on using control of the FDA and the DOJ to implement backdoor bans.

By replacing the head of the FDA, a Trump administration would rescind approval of mifepristone, one of the two medications used to end a pregnancy. With the DOJ, they’d ensure that the Comstock Act, the 19th century zombie law that makes it illegal to ship ‘obscene’ materials, would be used to stop the mailing of abortion medication or supplies. (That’s not a political prediction, by the way—it’s a plan conservatives have explicitly laid out in Project 2025.)

“How to Push Back on Trump's New Abortion B.S.” (The Message Box, Dan Pfeiffer, 4/8/24)

I wouldn’t take Donald Trump’s word on the weather, let alone on an issue of such consequence as reproductive freedom. In 2016, Trump tried to avoid the political attacks that defeated Mitt Romney by declaring he was opposed to cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Just like the coverage of today’s announcement, that proclamation was portrayed as triangulating from the more conservative elements of his party. Once Trump got into office, he tried to gut Medicaid and included cuts to Social Security and Medicare in his budget every single year. Donald Trump brags all of the time about the role he played in overturning Roe v. Wade. If he wins the White House, the most likely scenario is that the GOP will also control the House and the Senate.

The current Speaker of the House is a far right ideologue with some of the most retrograde views on abortion in the country. We don’t know who will lead the Senate Republicans, but almost certainly that person will advocate for a national stance on abortion. Under that scenario, a national abortion ban will be headed to Trump’s desk and, if you think he won’t sign it, I have some stock in a fledgling social media site to sell you.