WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — Former President Donald Trump says he doesn’t think abortion will be a big factor in the 2024 election. The Harris campaign and many advocacy groups disagree.
On Thursday during a press conference, former President Trump told reporters he doesn’t see abortion being a top issue in this race.
“I think that abortion has become much less of an issue,” Trump said.
Planned Parenthood Votes spokesperson Katie Rodihan says that’s flat out false.
“Donald Trump is living in a daydream if he thinks abortion rights are not going to be the defining issue of the 2024 presidential race,” Rodihan said.
The Harris campaign agrees, saying in a statement “Abortion is not ‘less of an issue’ for voters. It is not ‘subdued.’ It is not a ‘small issue’ for voters, despite how much Donald Trump wants it to be.”
As president, Trump appointed three conservative Supreme Court justices who helped overturn Roe vs. Wade. That ruling left abortion access up to the states, which Trump says is where it should stay.
“We’ve brought it back to the states. Everybody wanted it in the states,” Trump said.
Rodihan argues the patchwork of abortion restrictions across the country deprives too many women of essential healthcare.
“44% of women in America live in states that don’t have access to abortion and where their right to make their own decisions about their healthcare has been stripped from them,” Rodihan said.
Health policy research organization KFF studies abortion’s impact on the race.
In the last two years their data shows that things have changed. Researcher Ashley Kirzinger says right after the decision they saw a peak in voters naming abortion as a top issue, but that has declined.
“It has definitely decreased since then, but there is a significant share, it’s about one in ten voters, who still say abortion is their most important issue,” Kirzinger said.
She also says it’s significant to note that the demographics of those voters have shifted.
“Now these single-issue abortion voters are more likely to be Democrats, they’re more likely to be younger, they’re more likely to be women,” Kirzinger said.
Former President Trump also suggested he’d consider having the FDA revoke access to the widely used abortion drug mifepristone.
“Sure, you could do things that would supplement absolutely, and those things are pretty open and humane. But you have to be able to have a vote and all I want to do is give everybody a vote,” Trump said.
