Donald Trump says liberals 'wanted' him to overturn Roe v. Wade

Donald Trump has accused liberals of wanting him to overturn Roe v. Wade, saying: “Everybody wanted this to be done!”

The former president is currently rallying for a non-consecutive, second presidential term, and had a stop in Freeland, Michigan on 1 May. The “Make America Great Again” founder claimed to the crowd that Democrats never cared about reproductive rights until it became a “political deal”.

The landmark law was overturned in 2022 under Trump’s presidency, following his nomination of three conservative judges to the Supreme Court: Brett Kavanaugh, Neil Gosruch, and Amy Coney Barrett.

Speaking about the overturning of Roe v.Wade – which meant that women and those with uteruses could no longer have the right to a safe and legal abortion up until foetal viability in the US – Trump alleged: “Every legal scholar wanted this to be done. Most Democrats wanted it, liberals wanted it.

“This was a while ago, then they changed their minds, they viewed it as a political deal,” he alleged.

Trump on overturning Roe: Every legal scholar wanted this to be done. Most Democrats wanted it. Liberals wanted it. pic.twitter.com/3pzXJtD3LX — Acyn (@Acyn) May 1, 2024

In true Trump fashion, the former President failed to show receipts – with Gallup polls dating back to 1975 actually showing that Democrats wanted abortion to be legal in any, all, or some situations.

Last month, a CNN poll found that 65% of Americans disapproved of the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, with similar results to polls from the last two years when Roe was first overturned.

Since the overturn, 14 states in the country have enacted a near-total ban on abortion. A further two states, Georgia and South Carolina, have banned abortion past six weeks of pregnancy, as per The Guardian. For context, one in three people discover they are pregnant past six weeks’ gestation, according to ANSIRH.

Back in January, Vice President Kamala Harris called out Trump for “bragging” about the overturn of the landmark law. She attended a stop in Wisconsin on 22 January during the Fight for Reproductive Freedoms tour in honour of the 51st anniversary of Roe v. Wade, where she addressed the overturning.

US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at her Fight for Reproductive Freedoms Tour. (Getty Images)

“The former president hand-picked three Supreme Court justices because he intended for them to overturn Roe. He intended for them to take your freedoms, and it is a decision he brags about,” Harris began.

She then asked how the former president could ever be “proud” of the law being overturned on his watch.

For abortion support in the US, visit Planned Parenthood here. For abortion support in the UK and Northern Ireland, visit the NHS website here. For abortion support in Ireland, which has been lawful since March 2020, visit HSE here.