Donald Trump addressed influential evangelical Christians in Iowa on Saturday, using his speech to highlight his actions as president to try to restrict abortion rights. The speech came after the Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America group rebuked his position that abortion restrictions should be left up to the states, not the federal government, calling it a “morally indefensible position for a self-proclaimed pro-life presidential candidate.” Instead, Trump focused on his record as president, including his nominations of three conservative judges to the U.S. Supreme Court, which paved the way for the overturning of the landmark Roe. v. Wade ruling, which had affirmed a federal right to abortion. The event marked the unofficial start of Iowa’s 2024 caucus campaign and featured a slate of Republican candidates and potential contenders, including U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, who is expected to enter the race. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, considered a top rival to Trump, did not attend.
Abortion rights have reemerged as a pivotal issue in elections after conservatives achieved their long-sought goal of overturning the Roe. v. Wade ruling last year. The Republican presidential field is trying to get a handle on how far to go in supporting restrictions on the procedure to satisfy the conservative base in the primary but not to further alienate general election voters, most of whom support keeping abortion legal. Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America has said it will not support any White House candidate who does not at a minimum back a 15-week federal abortion ban.
Despite the credit Trump received for his judicial nominations, he was criticized after last year’s elections for saying that Republicans’ underperformance was due to abortion foes’ opposition to exceptions for women who became pregnant by rape or incest or whose life was at risk. All the Republicans in the race or moving toward running have supported state bans on abortion. Most have been much more cautious about staking a position on a nationwide ban. Scott has said he would support a federal law to prohibit abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
The senator has issued calls for uniting the nation around Christian faith and spoke Saturday about the religion’s values being embedded in the foundation of America. “If you believe, like I do, that America should celebrate our founding fathers and not cancel them, let me hear you say ‘Amen,’” Scott shouted at the start of a call-and-response with the audience. He, along with Pence, has visited regularly with evangelical pastors during his early trips to Iowa, with the aim of building rapport with clergy who can be influential in their churches among politically active social conservatives.
Also appearing Saturday night were Vivek Ramaswamy, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, radio host Larry Elder, former Rep. Will Hurd of Texas, former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, and former Michigan gubernatorial candidate Perry Johnson. In his closing remark, Johnson made reference to the Florida governor’s absence from the event. “I think DeSantis is making a huge mistake for not being here,” Johnson said. “But to each his own.”
