According to the latest reports, Donald Trump will not choose a hardline pro-life candidate as his deputy due to fears that this would be electorally unwise.
NBC reported Sunday that Trump inquired about various potential vice presidents’ positions on the issue, with particular concerns raised about Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem.
“The president sees this as a dangerous issue, where you can actually trip and fall on your face,” a source close to Trump said. “He is concerned that this will weigh on the ticket if they are seen as holding too strong a position.”
Trump’s apparent red line is someone who supports something harsher than a six-week ban.
Noem signed into law one of the country’s toughest abortion bans, allowing the procedure only when the mother’s life is in danger. You have previously described yourself as an “absolutist” on the issue.
In a statement to NBC, Noem clarified her position:
I am pro-life, however, as a mother and grandmother, I want to help mothers and families overcome any difficult situations they may face.
We must speak about this difficult issue from the heart and with compassion. We don’t win by hiding from the conversation. Women on both sides are highly sensitized to the issue. But the women I talk to every day across the country are more concerned about how Joe Biden’s America is making it harder for their children and grandchildren to achieve the American dream.
Scott, meanwhile, has previously indicated he supports a six-week federal ban on abortion. During his presidential campaign, he pledged to “sign the most conservative pro-life legislation he can get through Congress.”
Trump’s position represents a shift from his 2016 presidential campaign, when he singled out the staunchly pro-life Mike Pence to shore up support from conservative evangelicals.
Last month, the New York Times reported that Trump was privately supporting the idea of a 16-week federal abortion ban with exceptions in cases of rape, incest or if there is a threat to the mother’s life.
When warned that a proposed candidate does not support these “three exceptions,” he is said to become “immediately contemptuous.”