It seems that Donald Trump may hold a centrist position on abortion rights despite his far-right fanbase. Donald Trump, the former 45th president, seems to be soft campaigning towards re-election. The point of a political campaign is election. To be elected one must receive more electoral votes than the other candidates.
For Trump, expressing a strong anti-abortion stance may be slightly politically disadvantageous. While most of his base is quite anti-abortion, many potential Trump voters aren’t. Part of the game of politics is growing one’s political base, and this means being closer to the Overton window.
The Overton Window
The Overton window is a political science concept that describes how acceptable certain views are. Essentially, the farther away from the box, the less socially acceptable those views are. Here are a few examples for clarification. In the previous century, the Soviet Union’s Overton window was Marxism Leninism.
What this means is that political ideologies such as neoliberalism, neoconservatism, and fascism were socially unacceptable and were considered right-wing. Furthermore, if one wanted to be a politician, nothing less than Marxist ideology would be acceptable to publicly express. Otherwise, they wouldn’t make it as a politician. To be clear, the reason why they wouldn’t make it wasn’t the state, but rather because people simply wouldn’t vote for them.
Trump The Politician
Similarly, the republican constituency wouldn’t vote for Trump if he started actively being pro-abortion. However, by taking a center-right approach to the issue, he allows himself to be perceived as both anti-abortion but open to liberal states having legal access to it.
This position allows him to maintain his image as a highly conservative figure, but open enough for non-conservative independents to see Trump as being able to be reasoned with.
Rejecting Wills
“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,” he said. “At the end of the day, it’s all about will of the people.” according to AP News.
This sudden concern for the will of the people is ironic considering he led an insurrection against the nation. The supposed reason for this insurrection was the idea that Biden “stole” the election. Biden won because his team managed to get him a historic number of votes. The insurrection Trump incited was a direct attack against the will of Americans. However, it seems when he says the “will of Americans” he may only mean some Americans.
Abortion Is a Human Rights Issue
Abortion rights isn’t simply a women’s issue, it’s a human rights issue. The self-determination of women is an important aspect of human rights. Women’s rights aren’t something that can’t just be left to a “state decision”. America is supposedly the land of the free and possibly the home of the brave.
Yet, women seem to continue to have their rights robbed from them on a consistent basis. The fact of the matter is that America isn’t free and the politicians are brave enough to admit it. America quite literally took away the right to self-determination from half the population and left it up to the whims of corrupt state politicians.
Trump The Politician
Ultimately, Donald Trump is going to do or say whatever he needs to say or do to become president. He is trying his hardest to duck and dodge the lawsuits that would land him in jail for the rest of his life. If he becomes president then he can simply pardon himself of his crimes. So, even if it irritates his base slightly, Donald Trump is a man with a mission. At the end of the day, Donald Trump is not “pro” anything, he is a casual bigot, but he is ultimately pro-Trump.
Written by Kenneth Mazerat
Sources
ApNews: Trump declines to endorse a national abortion ban. He says limits should be left to the states by JILL COLVIN AND MEG KINNARD
Reuters: Trump says abortion laws should be decided by US states by By Doina Chiacu and Nathan Layne
WSJ: Trump Says States Should Chart Their Own Paths on Abortion by Alex Leary, Catherine Lucey and Laura Kusisto
Featured and Top Image Courtesy of Gage Skidmore’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
First Inset Image Courtesy of Matt Johnson’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License