CNN
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Former President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he intends to veto the federal abortion ban if re-elected.
“Everyone knows that under no circumstances would I support a federal abortion ban, and in fact I would veto it, because it would be based on the will of the voters. “It’s up to each state to decide,” Trump said during the CBS vice presidential debate between his running mates, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. I posted it in all caps on the Social platform.
Trump went on to say, “Like Ronald Reagan before me, I fully support the three exceptions for rape, incest, and the life of the mother.”
Republican candidates have repeatedly said they would not sign a federal abortion ban, but during last month’s ABC debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, they said they had no intention of vetoing such a ban, but rather “There’s no need for that,” he insisted.
Asked by Vance during the debate whether the former president had told him he would veto such a bill, Trump said he had not spoken to Vance about that. “I don’t think he speaks for me,” he said.
Abortion is a key contrast in the 2024 campaign, with Harris enjoying a clear advantage on the issue. That partially boosted her lead among women voters nationwide and in battleground states. Democrats have made abortion rights a key part of their message this year, made possible by a majority of Supreme Court justices appointed by President Trump to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022. It points to state-level regulations that
Since the Supreme Court decision, Democrats have performed well in elections where abortion has been a central issue, and abortion rights supporters have won a series of bills on the statewide ballot on the issue, including are also included in red-colored states.
President Trump has recently begun portraying himself as a “protector” of women, claiming that American women would not “think about abortion” if he were elected.
CNN’s Eric Bradner contributed to this report.
