Former President Donald Trump told a right-wing Christian group that has called for abortion to be “eradicated” and for the procedure to be prosecuted as homicide that it would “make a comeback like just about no other group” if he is re-elected.
“I know that each of you is protecting those values everyday, and I hope that we’ll be defending them side by side for your next four years,” Trump said in pre-recorded speech to the Danbury Institute on Monday.
“These are gonna be your years, because you’re gonna make a comeback like just about no other group," he added. "I know what’s happening, I know where you’re coming from and where you’re going, and I’ll be with you side by side."
The Danbury Institute represents a coalition of churches and Christian organizations that advocate for "Judeo-Christian values as the proper foundation for a free and prosperous republic," its website says. The group calls abortion "child sacrifice," and its website regurgitates various right-wing stances on gender and sexuality.
Trump has flip-flopped on abortion dramatically in the years since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. His speech to the Danbury Institute has been heavily criticized by the Biden campaign as it seeks to highlight the presumptive GOP presidential nominee's anti-abortion stance.
Yet Trump's remarks were heavy on hyperbole and devoid of specifics. He didn't mention the word "abortion," and, as Axios reported, some attendees were unhappy that Trump did not go as far in his speech as they wanted him to.
But the absence of any mention of his agenda in his speech and the manner in which he delivered it — via video and not in person — reflects his strategy of catering to anti-abortion zealots while trying not to alienate moderate voters during an election year. Like his recent refusal to take a position on a national abortion ban, Trump — who used to boast of being the architect behind Roe's fall — appears to have made the calculation that putting some distance between his campaign and the most extreme anti-abortion positions will ultimately boost his chances at winning the election.
What he may do after that is another matter.