President Joe Biden is pitching his re-election bid as best equipped to fight anti-abortion measures and restore Roe v. Wade – which was overturned due to conservative Supreme Court justices appointed by former President Donald Trump.
But Trump allies plan to muddle Biden’s message on abortion by making independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. a “champion of choice” in an effort to siphon votes from the Democratic president to benefit the ex-president, according to The New York Times.
Trump allies also aim to tout record oil production under Biden to frustrate pro-environment progressives and push them toward Kennedy Jr. and Green Party candidate Jill Stein in the general election. These same allies are seeking to undermine Biden in the key swing state of Michigan by promoting his support for Israel amid harsh criticism from many Democrats over his handling of the Gaza conflict, according to the Times.
Trump’s work to install anti-abortion judges during his term, as well as his desire to increase oil production and strengthen ties with the Israeli government, will likely not be mentioned at all; it’s apparently about weakening Biden among key groups whose participation will be incredibly crucial for the incumbent president in a tight contest.
According to the Times, pro-Trump efforts will likely come from dark money groups that are not part of the official campaign.
Trump himself has expressed immense interest in third-party campaigns and their impact on polling, according to aides who spoke to the Times.
Trump’s allies are taking a multifaceted strategy to promote third-party candidates because they believe having additional candidates in the presidential race will help the ex-president.
But the issue of abortion, which could become a political liability for Trump, is expected to have an outsized impact on the race.
In 2016, Trump chose Mike Pence as his vice presidential candidate, due to the then-Indiana governor’s appeal to evangelical voters whose support would be critical in the general election.
The gamble paid off, with the GOP ticket winning that year.
During his four years in office, Trump elevated Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, moving it in a decidedly conservative direction and leading to the demise of Roe. The result of the court’s 2022 ruling was a patchwork of anti-abortion laws in Republican-leaning states, while blue states have largely become safe havens for abortion rights.
Biden’s support for abortion rights is already well-established, but Trump has sought in recent months to soften his stance on the issue.
Last year, Trump called Florida’s six-week abortion ban a “terrible mistake,” much to the frustration of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who was a presidential candidate at the time. And just this week, the former president cast a chill over a national abortion ban favored by many high-profile conservatives and said the issue should be decided at the state level.
Despite the pro-Trump push for abortion, Kennedy Jr.’s stance on reproductive rights has not been as clear as Biden’s.
In a February interview with The Washington Post following a controversial Alabama court ruling on IVF, Kennedy Jr. said he believed women “have the right to choose” in matter of abortion. But at the time, he added that “there is a limit to what the Constitution says.”
When Kennedy Jr. was asked what he would do to solidify reproductive rights as president, he told the Post: “I don’t know, tell me. What should I do?”
businessinsider
