Donald Trump’s Position on Abortion Changes Yet Again

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So what is Donald Trump’s position on abortion? Let us count the ways:

Wednesday:

MATTHEWS: Do you believe in punishment for abortion, yes or no as a principle?

TRUMP: The answer is that there has to be some form of punishment.

MATTHEWS: For the woman?

TRUMP: Yes, there has to be some form.

A few hours later:

Campaign statement: This issue is unclear and should be put back into the states for determination.

A few hours after that:

Campaign statement: The doctor or any other person performing this illegal act upon a woman would be held legally responsible, not the woman….My position has not changed.

Thursday:

“It could be that I misspoke but this was a long, convoluted subject….This was a long discussion…which frankly they don’t run on television because it’s too long.”

(Ed note: This is a lie. Trump’s answer was televised in its entirety.)

Friday morning:

“A question was asked to me. And it was asked in a very hypothetical. And it was said, ‘Illegal, illegal’….But I was asked as a hypothetical, hypothetically. The laws are set now on abortion and that’s the way they’re going to remain until they’re changed….I think it would’ve been better if it were up to the states. But right now, the laws are set….And I think we have to leave it that way.”

A few hours later:

Campaign statement: Mr. Trump gave an accurate account of the law as it is today and made clear it must stay that way now—until he is President. Then he will change the law through his judicial appointments and allow the states to protect the unborn. There is nothing new or different here.

The best part of all this is that when the Trump campaign issues a statement cleaning up after their boss, they always insist that nothing has changed.

No, wait: the best part is when John Dickerson asked Trump if he thought abortion was murder and Trump refused to answer. “I do have my opinions on it. I just don’t think it’s an appropriate forum.” Really? Face the Nation is not an appropriate forum for discussing one of the key political issues of our time? What is?

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We need to start raising significantly more in donations from our online community of readers, especially from those who read Mother Jones regularly but have never decided to pitch in because you figured others always will. We also need long-time and new donors, everyone, to keep showing up for us.

In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

Please learn more about how Mother Jones works and our 47-year history of doing nonprofit journalism that you don't elsewhere—and help us do it with a donation if you can. We've already cut expenses and hitting our online goal is critical right now.

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