Wednesday was the anniversary of the famous Roe v. Wade case. While some are celebrating safe contraception, the March for Life Education and Defense Fund is preparing for its annual March for Life, protesting Roe v. Wade and the legality of abortions.
Recently, Donald Trump announced his projected presence for the March for Life on Friday, tweeting "See you on Friday... Big Crowd!" in response to a tweet from the official March for Life account.
Trump, who once said he was "very pro-choice," has done quite a lot for the pro-life movement, including allowing the defunding of Planned Parenthood or passing the Protect Life Rule. However, his presence at the march is what led many conservatives to hail him as a "pro-life hero," being the first president ever to speak at the annual pro-life gathering.
Among the praise has been voices of concern from the Evangelicals, such as Alan Cross, who tweeted that the movement is strongest when it "speaks clearly to all about sanctity of human life from faith, moral, ethical, & science perspectives" and the"long-term result of Trump becoming spokesman for ProLife Mvmnt could be its weakening.”
1. Will having Trump become a spokesperson for the pro-life movement hurt or help their cause?
2. Will taking such a controversial stance on a big issue like this hurt or help Trump's campaign in the future?
3. Will future presidents now have to follow the new precedent to speak at this gathering?
I believe the majority of Trump supporters are already pro-life, so I do not think this will change much in terms of gaining support for the pro-life movement nor would it hurt Trump’s campaign. It could potentially help him to get the support of those who value pro-life over other issues and use this matter as a determining factor in who they vote for, but I do not think it would make a signficant difference otherwise. I think this concept could also work in the opposite way. Like Alan Cross said, it may be damaging to the pro-life movement because some who are pro-life do not support Trump. Many of Trump’s policies contradict the idea of pro-life, so this may also be damaging to an already highly controversial topic. Overall, I do not think Trump’s endorsement of the pro-life movement is anything new as he has already taken a pro-life stance.
ReplyDeleteLike Audrey said, given that a lot of pro-life supporters and other types of people who would be attracted by this stance already are a Trump supporter, I don't think it will hurt or help Trump's campaign, as he has taken numerous controversial stances before and he is currently the president. This probably would set a precedent for pro-life presidents to appear at anti-abortion rallies in the future, although it may die off if the next few pro-life presidents don't uphold it.
ReplyDeleteI believe that if Trump becomes a spokesperson for the pro-life movement two things will happen. The first is that he will be growing in popularity among Conservative groups in America, and the second is that we will become less popular among the Liberal groups in America. Both groups have very strong opinions on abortion so having the president favor one side will definitely make that side happy and the other side angry. Regarding the question of whether I think his campaign will be affected... I don't think so. Although he's for sure going to lose and win supporters, I believe that his campaign won't be actually affected by the pro-life march.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Audrey that there are already a lot of pro-life supporters that are already Trump supporters. Therefore, I don’t think Trump becoming a spokesperson will help or hurt their cause as well as his campaign. It will definitely emphasize the division in our country however - conservatives will probably feel more empowered with a political leader on their side. However, the division in our country isn’t new; abortion has always been a very controversial topic in our country with splitting opinions among Americans. If anything, Trump becoming a spokesperson could maybe gain support for the pro-life movement but in the end I don’t think that it will affect much since we already knew his position on this controversial topic.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Trump's decision to attend this event is entirely strategic to his upcoming re-election campaign. Whether he sincerely believes in pro-life or not, he is targeting a demographic (majority evangelicals), which will ultimately benefit his movement and appear supportive within his supporters. Besides, most people who are pro-choice are mostly populated within major cities, a demographic that Trump does not necessarily appeal to. I don't believe that this new "precedent" will lead to much of the decision-making of presidents in the future. It is most likely just for strategic measures and appealing to the largest supportive group that he can.
ReplyDeleteI don't think Trump's outright support for the pro-life movement will cause him to lose any followers he hasn't already lost, but it certainly won't help him gain any new ones. By publicly supporting the movement, he is essentially restricting himself from ever trying to appeal to more liberal voters in the future. People have already formulated their opinions about Donald Trump, and his actions at this point only give people a reason to love him more or hate him even more than they already do. Trump's opinions surrounding abortion have been clear from the beginning, as there have been talks about whether the conservative Supreme Court will attempt to overturn Roe v. Wade. I don't think future presidents will feel obligated to speak at this gathering just because Trump has done so, as both liberal and conservative politicians dislike the way in which he has disregarded rules and traditions.
ReplyDeleteThis is an example of Trump once again doubling down to support his own base. I believes that he does this because he craves the attention and frankly adoration that his base gives him. However, this also makes it far more difficult for him to attract new supporters since they may be repulsed by his previous actions. On the question of precedent, I think that future Republican presidents will be more likely to speak since being pro-life is a major tenant of their party platform. However, I doubt that democrats would speak at the event (a pro-life event probably wouldn't even invite a democratic president).
ReplyDeleteCompletely agree with Andres' statement regarding the situation. And would like to reiterate that I believe that Trump's support may both hurt and help the pro-life campaign. Obviously it helps them with president's support, and helps Trump's reputation within the party as he states that his ideals follow those of his supporters. It can also hurt the pro life movement with a spokesperson whose reputation has not exemplified values in which pro life supporters may directly support themselves, but the benefits to them will outweigh that past. These actions will most definitely not affect his campaign as his controversial stance on many issues already define his campaign so solidifying an assumptions wont hurt his campaign I don't think.
ReplyDeleteI think that Trump taking such an conspicuous stance on such a controversial issue like abortion is a political move that specifically appeals to his base. While it is hard to say whether this is his true opinion, as he has changed constantly over the past few decades on his partisanship, it is clear that his base is very pro-life and I believe this will be a great boon to his 2020 campaign. However, I understand Alan Cross' concern with Trump appearing to want to serve as a spokesperson for the group, as his volatile stance on other issues and much less than perfect past goes against much of what the Evangelicals stand for in the first place. I don't believe it will dramatically hurt or help their case however, as some supporters will become more hard-lined while other supporters might be turned away from the movement with his participation. This issue is one divided by fundamentalist religious beliefs, and many of Trump's base fit this identity and so might even garner more traction for the movement. However, I do not believe this will become a precedent that Trump has established, as other presidents will not be able to take stance on such a controversial issue without greatly damaging their campaign and losing supporters. This is because presidents are usually supported by a mix of moderate bases, not such a hard-lined and vehement group of supporters.
ReplyDeleteI do think that Trump becoming a pro-life spokesperson would help their agenda because it might sway some of the Supreme Court justices in overturning Roe v. Wade. Trump has already successfully nominated two Supreme Court justices in his tenure, giving the Republicans a majority in the court. I do not believe that Trump’s stance on this issue will affect Trump’s campaign in the future because it is consistent with what his constituency is demanding from the government. As far as precedent goes, future presidents will not have to speak at this gathering if they do not want to, especially if they disagree with the movement. I cannot imagine a pro-choice supporter attending this rally because it compromises their standing with their supporters.
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