Abortion continues to be one of the most important issues in the 2024 election. Kamala Harris isn’t afraid to talk about it, Donald Trump doesn’t seem to know how it works, and now J.D. Vance has thrown his own take into the mix. The vice-presidential candidate appeared on Fox News’ The Ingraham Angle on Wednesday, where host Laura Ingraham gave him the airtime to share his campaign-approved opinions about abortion.
“One of my dear friends tonight said to me, ‘Well, all these suburban women, all they care about is abortion and they don’t understand that decision is with the states now,” Ingraham said. “What do you say to suburban women out there who are marinating in this propaganda?”
“First of all, I don’t buy that, Laura,” said Vance. “I think most suburban women care about the normal things that most Americans care about.”
Vance declaring that suburban women (read: white and Republican) don’t consider abortion to be a “normal” issue is the most sharable part of the exchange, and Kamala HQ quickly clipped and posted it. However, Vance’s talking point, if you can believe it, gets worse.
The Ohio senator went on to clarify what he thinks the “normal” things are that “suburban” women actually care about: inflation, the price of groceries, and public safety. Vance claimed that while Trump wants abortion to be left up to the states, Democrats are pushing for “nationalized, tax-payer-funded abortion up to the moment of birth.” While this is a blatant lie, Vance later said that Democrats are “obsessed” with late-term abortion and “making sure taxpayers fund it.” To clarify, late-term abortions take place after the 21st week of pregnancy. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fewer than one percent of abortions take place at that point in pregnancy, with almost 94 percent of abortions occurring before 13 weeks.
Polls have shown that abortion is not only a “normal” thing for voters to be concerned about, but is one of their top issues this election. A Gallup poll from June found that a record-high 32 percent of voters would only vote for someone who shares their views on abortion, with a majority of those voters being pro-choice.
Vance and the rest of the Trump team have been trying to downplay the importance of abortion during this campaign. The VP candidate told Ingraham, “I think Donald Trump is actually trying to identify the reasonable compromise where he lets California figure out its abortion policy, Alabama and Ohio figure out their abortion policy — that is actually the common-sense approach, and it’s the approach that’s most respectful of the American people.” I’m not sure someone who needs an abortion in Alabama or Ohio would agree.