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Donald Trump just threw Lindsey Graham under the bus

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Donald Trump and Lindsey Graham
Donald Trump and Lindsey Graham (Photo: Shutterstock/Gage Skidmore, via CC BY-S.A 2.0)

Donald Trump made his long-awaited announcement on abortion rights yesterday. Since the Supreme Court ruled in 2022 to overturn Roe vs. Wade, some on the right have pushed for the government to go further.

They want a federal ban on abortion and were hoping Trump might push this through.

However, Republicans know that overturning of Roe vs. Wade has cost them votes. And if there’s anything Trump cannot abide, it’s losing votes. He has therefore resisted stating what his position would be on abortion if he were to win the White House in November.

Yesterday, Trump posted a video saying that he was satisfied with the Supreme Court ruling sending abortion back to individual states to decide. He suggested it was not something requiring a federal ban or time limits. He was quite blatant about the importance of not losing the election.

“Always go by your heart, but we must win. We have to win,” he said.

Trump’s position is not all that surprising. The loss of abortion rights has swung some undecided voters toward the Democrats. However, yesterday’s video earned Trump criticism not only by those on the left but also by some of his allies on the right.

This included Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.

“I respectfully disagree”

Graham famously slammed Trump before he won the Republican nomination for President in 2016. However, since Trump effectively took control of the Republican Party, Graham has become a big fan. He has frequently praised Trump and echoed his viewpoints.

Yesterday, in a rare moment of dissent, Graham said, “I respectfully disagree with President Trump’s statement that abortion is a states’ rights issue. Dobbs does not require that conclusion legally and the pro-life movement has always been about the wellbeing of the unborn child – not geography.”

In 2022, Graham attempted to introduce legislation mandating a 15-week abortion ban. It has so far not progressed.

Yesterday, Graham said, “I will continue to advocate that there should be a national minimum standard limiting abortion at fifteen weeks because the child is capable of feeling pain, with exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother.”

Related:

OMG it must be so embarrassing to be Lindsey Graham right now

It’s been a chaotic few days for Lindsey Graham.

This rare show of disloyalty earned a swift rebuke from Donald Trump on Truth Social.

Trump said Graham and others were “doing a great disservice to the Republican Party, and to our Country.

“Terminating Roe v. Wade was, according to all Legal Scholars, a Great Event, but sometimes with Great Events come difficulties,” Trump wrote. “Many Good Republicans lost Elections because of this Issue, and people like Lindsey Graham, that are unrelenting, are handing Democrats their dream of the House, Senate, and perhaps even the Presidency.”

Trump also criticized Marjorie Dannenfelser, head of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America.

“Lindsey, Marjorie, and others fought for years, unsuccessfully, until I came along and got the job done,” Trump wrote. “Then they were gone, never to be heard from again, until now. We cannot let our Country suffer any further damage by losing Elections on an issue that should always have been decided by the States, and now will be!”

However, Trump’s criticism of Graham did not stop there.

“I blame myself for Lindsey Graham,” Trump said in another posting. “Because the only reason he won in the Great State of South Carolina is because I Endorsed him.”

Mike Pence and MTG

Graham was not the only conservative figure to criticize Trump’s announcement. Former Vice President Mike Pence, who makes no secret of his Biblical approach to governing, called it “a slap in the face to the millions of pro-life Americans who voted for him in 2016 and 2020.”

Pence is widely hated within the MAGA movement. Some blame him for not backing Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was rigged. Pence’s tweet quickly prompted thousands of angry respondents.

One person who has said little about Trump’s video is Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. Greene is vehemently against abortion. Most Sundays, she tweets a message asking people to pray for an end to abortion in America. She’s also one of Donald Trump’s biggest cheerleaders. She remained uncharacteristically quiet on Trump’s video announcement yesterday.

Addressing a town hall in Tunnel Hill, Georgia, last night, she said she was “unapologetically pro-life”. She said abortion is a very polarizing issue, and told people they could check Trump’s video if they want to know his position. Check this video at the 1.24 mark.

President Joe Biden responded to Trump’s announcement by posting a video illustrating some of the consequences of the SCOTUS ruling on abortion.

A video he posted depicts Amanda Zurawski, a Texas woman who sued the state after it banned terminations. She began to miscarry at 18 weeks. Doctors delayed giving her a medically necessary abortion and she says she nearly died. It’s unclear if she will be able to conceive again.

Related:

It kinda sounds like Lindsey Graham is thinking about maybe possibly perhaps breaking up with Donald Trump

Is Lindsey Graham planning his exit strategy?

Lindsey Graham has outburst on senate floor, is warned to follow decorum rules

Graham earned a rare rebuke after verbally attacking Democratic Senator Maggie Hassan as “dishonest”.

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