When Donald Trump on Monday suggested states, not the federal government, should decide the future of abortion access in America, it marked the former president’s latest evolution on the issue. Throughout his lengthy career in the public eye and politics going back 25 years, Trump has found himself on every side of the contentious debate, at times shifting stances seemingly to match the politics of the voters he is trying win over.
The following is a timeline of notable Trump remarks on abortion.
While publicly exploring a presidential campaign leading up to the 2000 election, Trump told “Meet the Press,” “I’m very pro-choice,” suggesting his views were shaped by New York’s liberal politics.
“I hate the concept of abortion,” he said. “But still, I just believe in choice.”
His 1999 remarks would become a focal point of attacks from his 2016 GOP rivals as Trump sought the party’s nomination for president, this time for real. Asked about them at a 2015 debate, Trump said he had “evolved.”
“You know who else has, is Ronald Reagan evolved on many issues,” Trump said.
Trump credited his aboutface to a child born to his friends who “was going to be aborted. And it wasn’t aborted. And that child today is a total superstar, a great, great child.”
As he marched toward the Republican nomination, Trump’s messaging on abortion oscillated between reaching out to general election voters and appeasing skeptical conservative hardliners. Conflicting comments on Planned Parenthood delivered shortly after a dominating Super Tuesday performance illustrated his contortions.
“Planned Parenthood has done very good work for millions of women,” he said. “But we’re not going to allow and we’re not going to fund, as long as you have the abortion going on at Planned Parenthood. We understand that, and I’ve said it loud and clear.”
“We’ll see what happens,” he continued, “but I’ve had thousands of letters from women that have been helped. This wasn’t a set-up, this was people writing letters.”
Trump’s strained efforts continued later that month, when, in the span of three hours, the former president advocated for and against punishing women who undergo an abortion.
During a televised town hall, MSNBC host Chris Matthews asked Trump if women who seek an abortion should face repercussions if the procedure were made illegal nationally.
“There has to be some form of punishment,” Trump said during the event.
“For the woman?” Matthews asked, to which Trump replied, “Yes.”
As backlash to the statement mounted, his campaign put out a statement from Trump saying, “This issue is unclear and should be put back to the states.”
But shortly after that, it issued another, longer statement from Trump backtracking entirely.
“If Congress were to pass legislation making abortion illegal and the federal courts upheld this legislation, or any state were permitted to ban abortion under state and federal law, the doctor or any other person performing this illegal act upon a woman would be held legally responsible, not the woman,” Trump said. “The woman is a victim in this case as is the life in her womb.”
During a debate with Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, Trump pledged to remake the US Supreme Court with nominees who looked unfavorably on abortion.
“The justices that I am going to appoint will be pro-life, they will have a conservative bent,” he said.
Trump later in the debate predicted his nominees would help deliver the end of Roe v. Wade – the Supreme Court decision that had guided American abortion policy for decades. By then, Trump had released a list of potential nominees he would consider to fill vacancies on the Supreme Court.
“Well, if we put another two or perhaps three justices on, that will happen. That will happen automatically in my opinion because I am putting pro-life justices on the court,” Trump said. “I will say this: it will go back to the states and the states will then make a determination.”
In one of his first acts as president, Trump signed a memorandum blocking the United States from funding organizations that provide abortion services, including counseling.
Four months later, Trump signed a bill allowing states to withhold federal money from organizations that provide abortion, reversing an Obama-era regulation. Uncharacteristically, Trump signed the legislation into law behind closed doors and away from television cameras.
With his reelection campaign underway, Trump became the first sitting president to attend the March for Life rally, an annual anti-abortion protest in Washington.
Speaking to a crowd gathered on the National Mall, Trump delivered his most striking and emphatic defense of his anti-abortion agenda, articulating a deep and unapologetic opposition in no uncertain terms. Repeatedly evoking Christianity, he reiterated a pledge to “veto any legislation that weakens pro-life policies or that encourages the destruction of human life.”
“Unborn children have never had a stronger defender in the White House,” he said. “And as the Bible tells us, each person is ‘wonderfully made.’”
Trump claimed victory after the Supreme Court, led by his three nominees, handed down a 6-3 decision in Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health that ended the federal right to an abortion.
Calling it “the biggest WIN for LIFE in a generation,” Trump – more than a year after he left the White House – said the outcome was “only made possible because I delivered everything as promised, including nominating and getting three highly respected and strong Constitutionalists confirmed to the United States Supreme Court.”
“It was my great honor to do so!”
After fallout from the Dobbs decision ushered in a wave of Republican losses in the midterms, Trump blamed the anti-abortion hardliners for those defeats in a New Years Day message shared on his social media site Truth Social.
“It wasn’t my fault that the Republicans didn’t live up to expectations in the MidTerms,” Trump, who had announced his latest presidential campaign just a week after the 2022 elections, wrote. “It was the ‘abortion issue,’ poorly handled by many Republicans, especially those that firmly insisted on No Exceptions, even in the case of Rape, Incest, or Life of the Mother, that lost large numbers of Voters.”
Days later, Trump would lash out again, this time at evangelical leaders for withholding support from his third White House bid.
“Nobody has ever done more for Right to Life than Donald Trump,” Trump said in an interview. “I put three Supreme Court justices, who all voted, and they got something that they’ve been fighting for 64 years, for many, many years.”
He added: “There’s great disloyalty in the world of politics and that’s a sign of disloyalty.”
Throughout the most recent GOP presidential primary, as he ducked his opponents and dodged debates, Trump also avoided taking a stance on federal legislation to restrict abortion.
In the rare event he spoke about abortion during the primary, it was usually to reinforce his stance that Republicans made themselves politically vulnerable by rushing to restrict access to the procedure after the Dobbs decision. That included criticizing his home state governor and Republican primary rival Ron DeSantis for signing a law that banned abortion in most instances six weeks into a pregnancy.
“I think what he did is a terrible thing and a terrible mistake,” Trump said.
DeSantis and other Republican hopefuls seized on Trump’s remarks to drive a wedge between the former president and the GOP base, to no avail.
To the confusion and frustration of some within his campaign, Trump more recently had flirted with supporting a federal abortion ban at 15 weeks.
During a recent radio appearance, Trump said – without evidence – that “people are agreeing on 15, and I’m thinking in terms of that, and it’ll come out to something that’s very reasonable.”
CNN reported last week that several Trump confidants, including former adviser Kellyanne Conway and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, lobbied the former president to support a federal abortion ban.
A pair of Florida Supreme Court rulings – one paving the way for a six-week abortion ban in the state, the other giving Floridians a chance in November to enshrine abortion access in the state’s constitution – put the Sunshine State’s most famous citizen on notice.
Trump, who resides in Florida and will have the state’s abortion referendum on his ballot this fall, avoided weighing in on the latest developments in his home state during an appearance in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
“We’ll be making a statement next week on abortion,” Trump teased instead.
In a lengthy video statement, Trump says “states will determine by vote or legislation or perhaps both” the future of abortion access in America, effectively declining to support a federal abortion ban.
Trump in his remarks thanked the six Republican-appointed justices who overturned Roe v. Wade, saying they had “courage to allow this long-term, hard-fought battle to finally end.”
“This 50-year battle over Roe v. Wade took it out of the federal hands and brought it into the hearts, minds, and vote of the people in each state, it was really something,” he said. “Now, it’s up to the states to do the right thing.”
Trump went on to suggest support for exceptions for victims of rape and incest or in cases when a mother’s health may be in danger, but stopped well short of suggesting federal legislation to protect access for women facing those scenarios. Many of the states that have restricted abortion do not have those exceptions, and some that do have onerous requirements that have left pregnant women and doctors confused and fearing legal retaliation.
Members of Parliament are questioning why Canadian security officials did not inform them that they had been the target of Beijing-linked hackers, after learning from the FBI that the international parliamentary alliance they are a part of was in the crosshairs of the Chinese cyberattack in 2021.
Immigration Minister Marc Miller says international students will be able to work off-campus up to 24 hours per week starting in September.
Norovirus is spreading at a 'higher frequency' than expected in Canada, specifically, in Ontario and Alberta, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.
Toronto police say 12 people are facing a combined 102 charges in connection with an investigation into a major credit fraud scheme.
French actor Gerard Depardieu was questioned by police on Monday in connection with alleged sexual assaults against two women on separate film sets, police sources said, and was released without charge.
Tobacco manufacturers have until Tuesday to ensure every king-size cigarette produced for sale in Canada has a health warning printed directly on it.
The clock is ticking ahead of the deadline to file a 2024 income tax return. A personal finance expert explains why you should get them done -- even if you owe more than you can pay.
Anne Hathaway first shared she lost interest in drinking after a bad hangover in 2018. She’s now five years sober.
The majority of Canadians aspiring to buy a home say they will push their plans to next year or later to wait for interest rates to drop, a new survey shows.
McGill University says the growing encampment on its lower field in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza violates its policies.
Immigration Minister Marc Miller says international students will be able to work off-campus up to 24 hours per week starting in September.
Police have charged a third youth in connection with the death of a teenager in Halifax last week.
The same storm system that brought deadly tornadoes to parts of the U.S. is heading north, hammering some Canadian provinces with rain and snow, according to latest forecasts.
Dozens of London Drugs stores across Western Canada remained closed Monday following what the company described as a "cybersecurity incident" over the weekend.
A staff member at an Ontario school has been placed on home assignment after video of what the board is calling 'harmful and discriminatory' language directed at a student wearing a keffiyeh surfaced online.
NATO countries haven't delivered what they promised to Ukraine in time, the alliance's chief said Monday, allowing Russia to press its battlefield advantage while Kyiv's depleted forces wait for Western military supplies to arrive.
The climate crisis impacts Earth — its land, its atmosphere and its bodies of water — and it also profoundly affects the health and behavior of the planet’s inhabitants large and small, including humanity.
A suspected missile attack by Yemen's Houthi rebels damaged a ship in the Red Sea on Monday, authorities said, the latest assault in their campaign against international shipping in the crucial maritime route.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's governing party, stung by an extensive slush funds scandal, appeared to have lost all three seats in Sunday's parliamentary byelections, according to media exit polls and preliminary results.
A dam collapsed in western Kenya early Monday, killing at least 45 people and leaving dozens missing after a wall of water swept through houses and cut off a major road, the Interior Ministry said.
A teenage gunman wounded 10 people when he opened fire early Sunday after fighting broke out during a private event at a Florida party venue, authorities said.
Members of Parliament are questioning why Canadian security officials did not inform them that they had been the target of Beijing-linked hackers, after learning from the FBI that the international parliamentary alliance they are a part of was in the crosshairs of the Chinese cyberattack in 2021.
The federal Conservatives are pushing the Liberals to end allowing drug use in public after British Columbia announced it wants to scale back its decriminalization pilot project.
The Opposition Conservatives are demanding to see contracts related to six electric vehicle projects underway in Canada for information on what they do to protect local union jobs.
Tobacco manufacturers have until Tuesday to ensure every king-size cigarette produced for sale in Canada has a health warning printed directly on it.
The number of measles cases around the world nearly doubled from 2022 to 2023, researchers say, presenting a challenge to efforts to achieve and maintain elimination status in many countries.
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
A northern Ontario beekeeper is sounding the alarm after discovering most of her bees had died earlier this year.
Anyone who has a Gen-Z person in their life is likely familiar with the popular social media app TikTok, but a new bill in the U.S. may soon take it off of the American market.
State-sponsored actors targeted security devices used by governments around the world, according to technology firm Cisco Systems, which said the network devices are coveted intrusion points by spies.
Anne Hathaway first shared she lost interest in drinking after a bad hangover in 2018. She’s now five years sober.
Taylor Swift continues to dominate in the week following the release of her 11th album, "The Tortured Poets Department." The 31-track album has hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, tying Swift with Jay-Z for second-most No. 1 albums at 14. Only The Beatles, with 19 No. 1 albums, have had more.
Actor and activist Elliot Page offered a parent some guidance and blasted the Alberta government Sunday at the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo.
The majority of Canadians aspiring to buy a home say they will push their plans to next year or later to wait for interest rates to drop, a new survey shows.
A boycott targeting Loblaw is gaining momentum online, with what could be thousands of shoppers taking their money elsewhere in May.
The clock is ticking ahead of the deadline to file a 2024 income tax return. A personal finance expert explains why you should get them done -- even if you owe more than you can pay.
A gold watch worn by John Jacob Astor IV, a member of the wealthy Astor family and the richest man aboard the Titanic, sold for a record-breaking US$1.485 million at auction on Saturday.
Employees increasingly find that robust workplace volunteer programs meet their desires for in-person connections, professional growth and altruistically inclined employers — career objectives that might be missing in conventional corporate atmospheres.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Tributes continue to pour in for Bob Cole as his family has confirmed a funeral will be held for the legendary broadcaster Friday in St. John's, N.L.
Sunday's comeback win by the Vancouver Canucks had special meaning for Carol Morin and her family.
Connor Hellebuyck has a chance to add to his NHL awards hardware as he has been named one of the three finalists for the Vezina Trophy.
On a three-lane test track along the Monongahela River, an 18-wheel tractor-trailer rounded a curve. No one was on board.
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Ford’s electric vehicle unit reported that losses soared in the first quarter to US $1.3 billion, or US$132,000 for each of the 10,000 vehicles it sold in the first three months of the year.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.
The lawyer for a residential school survivor leading a proposed class-action defamation lawsuit against the Catholic Church over residential schools says the court action is a last resort.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A nearly century-old church in one of Vancouver's most desirable neighbourhoods is up for sale.
Sunday's comeback win by the Vancouver Canucks had special meaning for Carol Morin and her family.
Dozens of London Drugs stores across Western Canada remained closed Monday following what the company described as a "cybersecurity incident" over the weekend.
Toronto police say 12 people are facing a combined 102 charges in connection with an investigation into a major credit fraud scheme.
Norovirus is spreading at a 'higher frequency' than expected in Canada, specifically, in Ontario and Alberta, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.
A staff member at an Ontario school has been placed on home assignment after video of what the board is calling 'harmful and discriminatory' language directed at a student wearing a keffiyeh surfaced online.
A Calgary elementary school principal has been charged with possession of child pornography, authorities announced Monday.
Premier Danielle Smith will be in Calgary on Monday to announce more details about a plan to improve rail service in Alberta.
An oilfield equipment supply company has been ordered to pay $360,000 in connection with the death of a worker more than two years ago.
Premier Doug Ford announced the province will be opening a new regional office dedicated to Ottawa on Monday.
A report for the city's finance and corporate services committee recommends the city implement an administrative penalty system for adjudicating parking and camera-based offences, with municipally appointed hearing officers adjudicating ticket disputes instead of the provincial courts system.
The University of Ottawa (uOttawa) says it supports the freedom of expression on campus, but encampments and occupations "will not be tolerated" ahead of a pro-Palestinian demonstration expected to take place on campus starting Monday.
McGill University says the growing encampment on its lower field in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza violates its policies.
In a time of push for bigger and better infrastructure, Quebec researchers are working toward an environmentally friendly way to build bridges and construct sidewalks.
Over the past year, the rise in the cost of living has been most brutal for those with lower income, according to a new report.
The Edmonton Oilers' offence wasn’t rolling Sunday night, but head coach Kris Knoblauch felt just fine knowing his goalie would get them to the finish line.
An oilfield equipment supply company has been ordered to pay $360,000 in connection with the death of a worker more than two years ago.
As the urban centre at the heart of Canada's oilsands industry, Fort McMurray has seen more than its share of ups and downs.
Police have charged a third youth in connection with the death of a teenager in Halifax last week.
A high school in Halifax is dismissing students early Monday due to an alleged threat.
A Bedford, N.S., man has been charged with stunting after the RCMP says he was caught driving more than 138 km/h over the posted speed limit.
The trial of a Winnipeg man accused of killing four women began this morning with a preliminary matter before the jury is called in next week.
The trial for the man accused of killing four Indigenous women in Winnipeg is set to get underway on April 29.
Winnipeg forward Vladislav Namestnikov was hospitalized Sunday after taking a slapshot to the side of the head during the third period of the Jets' 5-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche.
Saskatchewan has brought in resources early to prepare for this year's fire season. A drier than normal summer is forecast with eleven fires currently active.
Residential street sweeping in Regina is set to get underway this week with more than 1,000 kilometres of roadway expected to be cleaned over the next six weeks.
Tobacco manufacturers have until Tuesday to ensure every king-size cigarette produced for sale in Canada has a health warning printed directly on it.
Police have arrested a 46-year-old Guelph man after a woman said she found a hidden camera and was hit with a bat several times.
Ontario is now home to an invasive and toxic worm species that can grow up to three feet long and can be dangerous to small animals and pets.
Ontario is introducing a suite of measures that will crack down on cellphone use and vaping in schools.
Saskatoon’s public school board says that despite “record” funding from the province this year, the ministry’s allocation to the division doesn’t make the grade.
Saskatchewan has brought in resources early to prepare for this year's fire season. A drier than normal summer is forecast with eleven fires currently active.
Workers at group homes run by LutherCare Communities in Saskatoon are escalating their strike action.
A gruesome discovery was made in a remote wooded area of Greater Sudbury on Sunday night, Sudbury police say.
A boycott targeting Loblaw is gaining momentum online, with what could be thousands of shoppers taking their money elsewhere in May.
One person was killed in a six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 in Innisfil Friday evening.
A tentative agreement has been reached between Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTA) and Western University.
Police have charged a 20-year-old London man with sexual assault following an alleged incident downtown.
The Verspeeten Family Cancer Centre has officially been unveiled in London, Ont. As announced in November, the $20-million gift was left to the London Health Sciences Foundation from the late Archie and Irene Verspeeten.
An alleged suspect has been identified by police for a car-bombing incident in Barrie last fall.
Police and search and rescue crews in Gravenhurst searched for a man presumed drowned in Lake Muskoka.
A 19-year-old motorcycle driver has died after being struck by a car on Sunday evening. Around 8:30 p.m., police responded to the crash in the southbound lanes of Dougall Avenue near the E.C. Row Expressway.
Sentencing has been delayed for a Windsor denturist convicted of sex offences.
Windsor fire and police are investigating two fires over the weekend.
Dozens of London Drugs stores across Western Canada remained closed Monday following what the company described as a "cybersecurity incident" over the weekend.
A nearly century-old church in one of Vancouver's most desirable neighbourhoods is up for sale.
Sunday's comeback win by the Vancouver Canucks had special meaning for Carol Morin and her family.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
An emaciated dachshund is now recovering thanks to a Good Samaritan who found the pup near a biking trail in Kelowna, according to the BC SPCA.
Search and rescue crews have been called in after a vehicle belonging to a missing senior was located near a rural intersection outside of Kelowna Tuesday.
Three locations, more than 200 vehicles pulled over – Mounties out of a southern Alberta detachment conducted a check stop operation on Friday night.
The Brooks Bandits got down to business Friday, defeating the Okotoks Oilers 8-2.
An Alberta political scientist said the NDP leadership hopefuls remained fairly even following the first of the party’s debates.
Parts of northeastern Ontario are under a freezing rain warning Monday morning as wet conditions continue across the region.
Greater Sudbury marked the Day of Mourning with ceremony at Laurentian University on Sunday to honour lives lost in workplace accidents and occupational illnesses.
St. Joseph’s General Hospital Elliot Lake says it is moving towards “normalcy” by transitioning to a mask-friendly policy.
Tributes continue to pour in for Bob Cole as his family has confirmed a funeral will be held for the legendary broadcaster Friday in St. John's, N.L.
Legendary sportscaster Bob Cole was a Newfoundlander through and through, and his daughter says his connection to the province was 'everything' to him.
Cenovus Energy has been ordered to pay a $2.5-million fine for its role in the largest offshore oil spill ever recorded in Newfoundland and Labrador.
The Shopping Trends team is independent of the journalists at CTV News. We may earn a commission when you use our links to shop. Read about us.
