After a week of silence, Trump finally voiced calculated outrage over revelations of Planned Parenthood’s secret baby organ racket. Given Trump’s history on the issue of abortion, the pro-life community shouldn’t fall for the Donald’s latest con.
On The Blaze with Dana Loesch, Trump declared that Planned Parenthood “absolutely should be defunded,” calling the practice of selling the limbs and organs of aborted children “disgusting.” And while he’s right, he’s wrong to have waited so long to say so.
Instead of immediately decrying the institutionalized slaughter and sale of innocent, healthy, and viable unborn babies, Donald Trump waited seven days to gauge which way the political winds would blow. He shouldn’t just be embarrassed that it took so long for him to predict the fall out. He should be ashamed.
A Missed Opportunity To Do The Easiest Thing
There are few moments in politics that unmistakably cut black and white. The piecemeal auction of dead babies is one of them. That’s why the majority of the GOP presidential field quickly decried the practice the day the first ghastly Planned Parenthood video dropped.
Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry called it “disturbing.” Jeb Bush tweeted that it was “shocking.” Walker expressed “horror,” and the rest of the candidates quickly followed suit. Trump, however, didn’t say a word. Now that the nation has expressed viral disgust, now that there’s no political risk, Trump has decided to shop around his pro-life pedigree. Conservatives should acknowledge that Trump iss “a total phony” and recognize him as a “loser.”
The quickest of Google searches shows that Trump was for abortion until he was against it, and then just barely.
On NBC’s Meet the Press in 1999, Trump told Tim Russert that while he “cringe[s] to hear people debating the subject” of partial birth abortion he “still just believes in choice.” Eleven years later when eyeing the White House for the first time, Trump suddenly changed his mind, saying he is and has been “pro-life.” How to explain the change? “As I’ve grown older, I’ve changed my views.” That’s great and all, but most people at least try to come up with a valid rationale for those changes.
The Art of Political Opportunism
This election cycle, Trump’s views on abortion have come full-term. Some will give him a pass, arguing that he has matured in his views like Ronald Reagan once did. But Reagan wrote an entire book, making a reasoned case for his new belief. Trump just gave some rambling interviews.
Voters shouldn’t be convinced and they shouldn’t be surprised at his most recent crass opportunism. After all, a record of campaign cash contributions speaks louder than sound bites.
For the last two decades, Donald Trump has supported the most extreme of abortion advocates. His moral trepidation didn’t stop him from bankrolling high profile pro-choice Democrats like Hillary Clinton, Harry Reid, and Chuck Schumer. Donald didn’t feel squeamish about partial birth abortion or embryonic stem cell research when he signed their checks. Those politicians have dedicated their careers to the defense of abortion—and at least they’re consistent and honest about it.
A money man by trade, Trump regularly refinances his views based on their political costs. Trump stumped for universal healthcare in the early 2000’s, now he opposes it. He once called for an end to the War on Drugs, now he supports it. He once supported abortion and now he opposes it and no one should be surprised. He used to love gun control and now…well, we’ll see.
Unfortunately for the Republican Party, Donald Trump is as creditworthy as the many enterprises he’s bankrupted over the years. Like his poorly fitting suits and bad hair, Trump’s newly developed pro-life views are just the latest in a long career of tasteless gimmicks. It’s time for Republicans to end this circus and tell him he’s fired.
Philip Wegmann is a Staff Writer and the Radio Producer for The Federalist. Follow him on Twitter.
