'I've learned my lesson': JD Vance dodges question on Trump's stance on national abortion ban

Donald Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, avoided directly answering whether Trump would veto a national abortion ban, admitting that he had "learned his lesson on speaking for the president before." During a recent interview, when asked about Trump’s potential stance on such legislation if re-elected, Vance chose not to speculate.

Vance explained that while the topic has generated significant debate, a national abortion ban is not on Trump’s agenda. "What [Trump] has said at the debate, which is quite explicit, is he doesn't support a national ban," Vance said. He said a hypothetical scenario of vetoing such a bill is "ridiculous" because "it's not going to come before the president in the first place." Vance said NBC News' on Meet the Press show, explaining Trump’s position that state governments should make their own decisions regarding abortion.


This clarification followed Vance’s earlier statement, where he suggested Trump would veto a national ban. "If you're not supporting it as the president, you fundamentally have to veto it," Vance had said during a previous discussion. However, during Trump's debate with Kamala Harris, the former president pushed back on these claims, saying, "I didn’t discuss it with JD, in all fairness... I think he was speaking for me, but I really didn’t." This back-and-forth shows the complexity and evolving nature of Trump’s abortion stance.


Trump's views on abortion have shifted over time. In his 2000 book The America We Deserve, Trump supported a federal abortion ban. In 2016, he described himself as "pro-life with exceptions" but faced backlash after suggesting women seeking abortions should be punished—a position he quickly walked back. By 2018, Trump expressed support for a federal ban on abortions after 20 weeks. Yet, more recently, he has suggested that states should handle abortion laws.

Trump's changing positions have caused confusion, even among his supporters. In March, he hinted at supporting a 15-week national ban, only to later backtrack on this statement. In an April interview with Time magazine, Trump again avoided committing to a clear stance on issues like prosecuting women for abortions or regulating access to abortion pills such as mifepristone, despite promising to make a definitive statement. In May, he seemed open to regulating contraception but quickly said his remarks were misinterpreted.


Further complicating matters, Trump initially criticised Florida's six-week abortion ban as "too extreme" but later changed his position, opposing a state ballot measure to repeal the law and enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution. Trump called the measure a product of "radical Democrats" and falsely claimed it would allow abortions up until birth.

Vance’s comments reflect the broader debate surrounding abortion in the US A July poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research revealed that around 60% of Americans believe abortion should be allowed in most cases. Meanwhile, states like Kentucky, Ohio, and Montana, traditionally conservative, have recently voted to protect abortion rights or defeated efforts to restrict them.