Donald Trump’s video statement on abortion Monday — saying the legalities around the procedure should be up to the states — came after months of his publicly and privately discussing the possibility of a federal abortion ban.
Trump’s positions on abortion have been a roller coaster for decades. At one point in 2015, during his run for president, he took “five positions on abortion in three days,” according to The Washington Post and as NBC News detailed at the time.
Here are some of the highlights:
October 1999: 'I am very pro-choice'
In an interview on NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” Trump said, “I am very pro-choice. I hate the concept of abortion. ... I just believe in choice. Again, it may be a little bit of a New York background, because there is some different attitude in some different parts of the country. ... I was raised in New York and grew up and worked and everything else in New York City. But I am strongly pro-choice."
Asked whether he would ban any abortion, including “partial-birth” abortion, Trump said: “No. I am pro-choice in every respect in as far as it goes. But I just hate it.”
February 2011: 'I am pro-life'
In a speech before the Conservative Political Action Conference while considering a 2012 run for the White House, Trump laid out his positions, including a new posture on abortion.
“I am pro-life," he said. "Against gun control. ... I will fight to end Obamacare and replace it with something that makes sense to people in business and not bankrupt the country.”
August 2015: Divided over defunding Planned Parenthood
In an interview with CNN, Trump said: “I would look at the good aspects of it, and I would also look because I’m sure they do some things properly and good, good for women, and I would look at that.”
February 2016: Says he'll defund Planned Parenthood — while also praising the group
Trump in a 2016 debate said he would cut off federal funding to Planned Parenthood while offering the marquee abortion rights organization a compliment.
“Millions of millions of women — cervical cancer, breast cancer — are helped by Planned Parenthood,” Trump said. “I would defund it because I’m pro-life, but millions of women are helped by Planned Parenthood.”
March 2016: 'Some form of punishment' for women who seek abortions
While he was still a GOP candidate for president, Trump said those who seek abortions should be subject to "some form of punishment."Asked in an MSNBC town hall whether there should be punishment, Trump said: “The answer is that there has to be some form of punishment.”
“For the woman?” host Chris Matthews asked Trump.
“Yes,” Trump replied.
October 2016: Trump vows to overturn Roe v. Wade
Trump said he would appoint the number of justices necessary to the Supreme Court to overturn Roe. v. Wade.
January 2017: Trump nominates Neil Gorsuch to Supreme Court
At his confirmation hearing, Gorsuch referred to "settled" precedent on abortion.
“Once a case is settled, that adds to the determinacy of the law. What was once a hotly contested issue is no longer a hotly contested issue. We move forward,” Gorsuch said.
October 2017: House passes 20-week abortion ban with Trump's support
The House passed legislation to ban abortions in most cases. At the time, Trump's White House said it “strongly supports” the bill “and applauds the House of Representatives for continuing its efforts to secure critical pro-life protections.”
January-May 2018: Trump advocates for a 20-week national abortion ban
Trump called on the Senate to approve the House's 20-week ban bill and vowed to sign it if it landed on his desk. (It never did)
July 2018: Trump nominee Brett Kavanaugh assures skeptics Roe v. Wade is 'settled'
A firestorm erupted over Kavanaugh's nomination. Among the concerns: that he'd be hostile to Roe v. Wade.At his confirmation hearing, Kavanaugh said that Roe “has been reaffirmed many times over the past 45 years” and that the most prominent and most important case was Planned Parenthood v. Casey in 1992. Hillary Clinton at the time warned Kavanaugh would one day vote to overturn Roe.
October 2020: Senate confirms Amy Coney Barrett
About a week before the 2020 election, Trump’s third conservative Supreme Court justice was confirmed to the court.
June 2022: 'God made the decision' to overturn Roe v. Wade
The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, with the three justices Trump appointed voting to void it – including Kavanaugh. At the time, Trump told Fox News that “God made the decision” when he was asked how he felt about playing a role in appointing the three conservative justices who made up the majority in the landmark reversal.
“I think, in the end, this is something that will work out for everybody," Trump said. He added: “This brings everything back to the states, where it has always belonged."
November 2022: Republican midterm losses
In a surprise, the GOP suffered losses in the midterm elections at a time when that the party should have swept seats, following tradition of the opposing party in the White House doing well in the midterms. Instead, Democrats held the Senate.
December 2022: McConnell blames Trump
In an NBC News interview, Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. blamed those losses on Trump.
January 2023: Trump blames abortion for the midterm losses
“It wasn’t my fault that the Republicans didn’t live up to expectations in the MidTerms,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “It was the ‘abortion issue,’ poorly handled by many Republicans, especially those that firmly insisted on No Exceptions, even in the case of Rape, Incest, or Life of the Mother, that lost large numbers of Voters.”
September 2023: Trump makes vague promises about an abortion compromise
In an interview on NBC News’ “Meet the Press," Trump said he would be a voice of consensus on abortion — but didn’t specify how. “Let me just tell you what I’d do,” he said. “I’m going to come together with all groups, and we’re going to have something that’s acceptable.”
February-March 2024:Trump flirts with a national abortion ban
After reports surfaced that he told others he was considering a federal abortion ban at 16 weeks, his campaign dismissed them as “fake news.” Soon after, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told NBC News that “Trump is warming up to 16 weeks.” And then Trump himself in an interview suggested he’d support a 15-week ban.
April 2: Trump avoids answering on Florida's six-week abortion ban
At a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Trump said his campaign would be “making a statement next week on abortion” after he was asked whether he supported a six-week abortion ban that the Florida Supreme Court just upheld.
April 8: Trump says abortion should go back to the states
Despite having teased otherwise, Trump didn’t announce support for a federal abortion ban. Trump released a video on Truth Social saying the abortion issue is appropriately handled by individual states. He didn’t say, however, what he would do if he won the presidency and Congress sent him a national ban.
“My view is, now that we have abortion where everybody wanted it from a legal standpoint, the states will determine by vote or legislation, or perhaps both, and whatever they decide must be the law of the land,” Trump said.
