Republican Ohio Sen. JD Vance says he’s learned a lesson about speaking for Donald Trump and backed away from a previous statement about Trump’s position on abortion. Left unanswered, though, is a basic question: Would Donald Trump veto a national abortion ban if he returns to the White House and such legislation landed on his desk? Vance, in an interview Sunday on “Meet the Press,” described the issue as a “ridiculous hypothetical.
” And he evaded the question, arguing the scenario never will happen. “If a national abortion ban was brought before the United States Senate right now, it would get, at best, 10 senators out of 100. So, I think we should talk about issues that actually might come before the president,” Vance told moderator Kristen Welker.
“His point was that it is a hypothetical, and not a hypothetical that has any chance of crossing his desk.” Abortion and reproductive rights are a high-interest issue in the presidential race. In several states, abortion issues are on the ballot for Nov.
5. Since the U.S.
Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, more than a dozen states have banned abortion outright. Several others have implemented restrictions.
Yet, reproductive rights issues have done well when put before voters. Voters in red states Kansas and Ohio enshrined reproductive rights in their state constitutions. Trump has changed positions on the issue several times, from professing to be pro-choice years ago to saying in 2016 that “ there has to be some form of punishment ” for women who obtain an abortion.
More recently, he has upset anti-abortion activists by not taking a firm stand. Trump hinted at one point that he would sign federal abortion legislation, but he later walked that back, the BBC noted . He called the state-wide restrictions that came into place after Roe v Wade fell “a beautiful thing.
” Later, he said abortion bans early in pregnancy went too far. When Vance appeared on Aug. 25 with Welker on “Meet the Press,” Vance hesitated, but then said Trump would veto a federal abortion ban .
“I think he’s been very clear he would not support it,” Vance told Welker. “But would he veto it?” Welker repeated. “If you’re not supporting it as the president of the United States you fundamentally would have to veto it,” Vance responded.
“So, he would veto a federal abortion ban?” Welker asked again. “I think he would,” Vance said. “He said explicitly that he would.
” But during the presidential debate Sept. 10, Trump hedged. “I didn’t discuss it with JD, in all fairness,” Trump said during the debate.
“And I don’t mind if he has a certain view, but I don’t think he was speaking for me.” Twice during the debate an ABC moderator asked for a yes or no answer on whether he’d veto a ban, but Trump dodged the question. “There’s no reason to sign a ban because we have gotten what everyone wanted,” Trump said, referring to leaving the regulation of abortion up to state governments.
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m. On Sunday, Welker gave Vance a chance to respond to Trump’s debate remarks. “I think that I’ve learned my lesson on speaking for the president before he and I have actually talked about an issue,” Vance said.
“What he has said at the debate, which is quite explicit, is he doesn’t support a national ban. He thinks it is ridiculous to talk about vetoing a piece of legislation that isn’t going to come before the president in the first place.” Cleveland.
com is closely tracking JD Vance’s every move and the reactions he provokes, as he becomes the first Ohioan in 80 years to appear on a presidential ticket for either major party. The coverage of JD Vance aims to provide a daily snapshot of the buzz surrounding him, capturing what he says, what he does, and what others are saying about him..
