In an angry message posted to his personal account on Truth Social just before 2 a.m. on Wednesday, ex-President Donald Trump went after ex-Vice President Mike Pence over the latter’s complaints regarding Trump’s recently claimed position on abortion in which states would lead the way. Trump arguably talked as though past candidate Pence is still in the presidential race. He’s not.
“He started at no abortion for any reason, and then allowing abortions for up to 6 weeks, then up to 15 weeks, and then, who knows? But it doesn’t matter because the Radical Left Democrats will never approve anything on this issue, and Republicans don’t have anywhere close to the number of Senators necessary to make it matter,” Trump wrote online. “Mike has been getting very bad advice from Mark Long, & others. That’s why he’s polling at 1%. With better advice, he would be polling at a solid 2%, and maybe even more!!!”
Pence, who tried challenging Trump in the 2024 Republican presidential primary in a face-off Trump is seemingly trying to reference, isn’t “polling at” anything anymore. Pence dropped out of the race in October of last year, having faded since to a role still in the public eye but seemingly less intent on regaining elected power, for now.
Reactions to Trump’s claim of a stance on abortion prioritizing state’s rights were mixed. He is still, critically, expressing outright pride in the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, the past case whose decision set up decades of protections for abortion across the United States. Some expressed doubts that Trump, known for sometimes shifting on policy, was even that serious at all, while others pointed to his actual record. Three of his nominees for the Supreme Court were on the bench when it undid Roe v. Wade, something they all supported. And for Trump to back a “state’s rights” position means — by default — support for the harsh restrictions imposed by many Republican state legislators.
