New York Times Pretty Sure Voters Won't Remember Trump Killed Roe, Buried Abortion Rights In Shallow Grave
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New York Times Pretty Sure Voters Won't Remember Trump Killed Roe, Buried Abortion Rights In Shallow Grave
And it's not like the Times is gonna remind them!
The New York Times is officially trolling us now. Tuesday, the paper of Pat Boone records dropped this load: “Why Trump Seems Less Vulnerable on Abortion Than Other Republicans.” The subhed is even sillier: “He appointed judges who overturned Roe, but his vague statements on the issue may give him some leeway with voters.”
OK, so we assume the Times fact-checking department is aware that Donald Trump nominated three Supreme Court Justices — Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett (thanks to a vengeful God who couldn’t wait a couple months before claiming Ruth Bader Ginsburg). All three of them voted to overturn Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
It’s true that almost any Republican elected in 2016 would’ve picked anti-choice radicals from the Federalist Society Catalog, but Trump has slapped his name on the Dobbs decision like it’s one of his tacky buildings. He told Kaitlan Collins at a CNN town hall in May 2023, which was this year: “I was able to terminate Roe v. Wade after 50 years of trying. They worked for 50 years. I never seen anything like it … I was so honored to have done it.” He spent most of the summer bragging about killing Roe while making Casey watch. It’s his “four touchdowns in a single game.”
He’s not been vague on this point. He doesn’t really do “vague.”
The Times’ Ruth Igielnik writes:
But Mr. Trump has held steady in recent surveys even among voters who favor keeping abortion mostly legal. President Biden, who holds a big lead among those who want abortion always legal, led the “mostly legal” group by only one percentage point against Mr. Trump in the recent New York Times/Siena College surveys of battleground states.
They keep referencing their own poll! It’s embarrassing. It’s like a writer I worked with once who kept quoting his own work. “As you might recall from my book, White Man Has Opinions …”
Igielnik continues:
Mr. Trump seems to have effectively neutralized abortion as an issue during the Republican primary.
He’s done what now? Abortion isn’t an “issue” in the Republican primary because the Republican candidates are all forced-birth extremists who support the Dobbs decision and just quibble over the tone of voice to use when further restricting abortion access.
He appears to be attending to general election voters by employing vagueness and trying to occupy a middle ground of sorts, perhaps allowing voters to see what they want to see.
What the hell is “vague” about Trump saying every chance he gets, “I ripped out Roe’s beating heart and stomped that sucker flat!”? Trump is openly campaigning as a fascist, and the Times is suggesting he’s already “pivoting” to the center for the general like a normal politician.
And traditionally in presidential elections, a relatively small share of people will vote based on any one social issue, even if that issue is abortion.
According to CNN exit polls from 2016, one in five voters said the Supreme Court seat that Mitch McConnell stole was one reason they’d cast a ballot. Of those voters, 56 percent voted for Trump. A Washington Post study showed 26 percent of Republicans voted for Trump because of the Supreme Court. Given the Electoral College margins, this was likely decisive. Last week’s elections would challenge the theory that voters don’t prioritize abortion rights.
Trump often mentioned Supreme Court vacancies during the final days of the campaign: “We don’t have four more years,” he said in Wisconsin. “They’ll start appointing justices of the Supreme Court. Remember that, Supreme Court.” He released a list of potential right-wing hack nominees. He tempted non-MAGA, almost-normal Republicans with the judiciary of their dreams, and it worked.
Now, the Times seemingly wants to help Trump minimize his role in building this radical far-right Supreme Court, which is less popular than he is, if you can believe it. The Sam Alito Court began its new term last month with a 38 percent approval rate. Trump built that.
Igielnik writes, “For those who want abortion to be mostly legal, Mr. Trump’s role in overturning Roe doesn’t appear to be a big concern.”
“I don’t think Trump was responsible for the Supreme Court’s decision,” said Michael Yott, a 37-year-old police officer from the Detroit area. “I honestly think that Trump is just for less government and states’ rights, and I’m fine with that. Now with Roe being gone, it’s up to each state to create their own rules and that’s fine.”
It’s hard to imagine 2012 voters who hated the Affordable Care Act saying that they didn’t blame Barack Obama for the law, even though he signed the damn thing. Trump said he’d pack the courts with anti-abortion judges, which he did, and he’s actively claimed credit for the Dobbs decision. Igielnik could’ve reminded the Michigan voter of this objective fact, but maybe that was too much like journalism.
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New York Times Pretty Sure Voters Won't Remember Trump Killed Roe, Buried Abortion Rights In Shallow Grave
I believe that Trump knows that anti-abortion is a loser, so avoids it. Democrats hopefully will run ads including clips of his bragging about getting rid of Roe.
Every tune I read comments from Trump supporters, I want to hunt them down and give them a brain transplant.