Donald Trump’s biggest lie so far
Last Monday, America stopped for 4 minutes to allow for a momentous occasion.
No. Not that little solar eclipse thing.
I’m talking about Donald Trump’s 4 ½-minute video, in which he supposedly spelled out his “true” stand on the issue of abortion.
The whole thing reminded me of that funky old James Brown tune, “Talkin’ Loud. Sayin’ Nothing.”
Mr. Trump is the master of making nothing important sound mighty dramatic.
Oh, yeah. Once again, he bragged that his Supreme Court nominees (Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh) were responsible for ending Roe v. Wade. He does that whenever the subject of abortion comes up.
But beyond that, there was hardly anything new about Trump’s video communique.
Did I just say “hardly?”
Well, there was one interesting bit of unfinished business Trump felt obliged to fulfill. He knew that Democrats, Republicans, and an array of media wanted to know at what point he felt there should be a ban on abortions – nationwide.
Would he want there to be a ban after six weeks? 10 weeks? 15 weeks?
Instead, Trump sheepishly punted.
He’s in favor of allowing the states to individually decide for themselves when to make it illegal to perform abortions. And he avoided calling for a national ban on abortions.
He knows that Democrats are counting on Republicans to overplay their hands on the issue of abortion. Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, a number of states have placed very strict abortion measures before their voters. Voters struck them all down.
His usual heavy-handedness could easily ignite a backlash among independent and even Republican women. He can ill-afford to do that.
So that’s why he’s doing a little political tap-dancing.
Mr. Trump didn’t always resort to trying to find a political sweet spot.
Eight years ago, in March 2016, he appeared with Chris Matthews, who hosted a program on MSNBC.
Matthews: “Do you believe in punishment for abortion; yes or no as a principle?”
Trump: “The answer is that (pause), there has to be some form of punishment.”
Matthews: For the woman?”
Trump: “Yeah. There has to be some.”
First, even the most hardline of pro-lifers aren’t inclined to want to punish women who get abortions.
And second, you’ll notice that he paused before making his determination about punishing women who’ve had abortions. When I saw him give that answer that day, it seemed to be a clear indication that he’d never even thought about the issue of abortion before he was asked that question on the spot.
He was making it up as he went along, I suppose.
The one thing about last Monday’s message that stuck out happened to be one of his biggest whoppers – ever!
“It must be remembered,” he breezily said, “that the Democrats are the radical ones (they) are in this position because they support abortion up to and even beyond the ninth month.”
Wait a minute! Did he just claim Democrats want to kill newborn infants?
Not only did he advance a persistent Republican lie he doubled down on it.
“And that’s exactly what it is. The baby is born. The baby being executed after birth is unacceptable, and almost everyone agrees with that,” he concluded.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only 0.9% of abortions took place in 2020 after 29 weeks or later.
None, I’m presuming, took place after babies were born.
Of course, nobody has ever heard a Democrat ever call for post-natal abortions. Biden-Harris Campaign Manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez bristled at the notion.
“Look, it’s a disgusting and blatantly false accusation that Donald Trump is making to try to distract from his unpopular policies,” she said.
Trump knows exactly how to churn out torrents of “disgusting” and “blatantly false accusations.” He’s quite good at it.
He’s built all his presidential campaigns, and his presidency by finding truths, and then avoiding them.
Hearing him give a speech – even a 4 ½-minute one, requires you to don some chest-high waders.
Al Owens is a multi-Emmy Award winner, former reporter, and anchor for Entertainment Tonight, and 50-year TV news and newspaper veteran. E-mail him at freedoms@bellatlantic.net.