According to Mediate, during a 2023 Lincoln Dinner hosted by the Republican Party of Iowa Des Moines, former President Donald Trump delivered a speech packed with false and inflammatory attacks. One of the most notable claims he made was accusing Democrats of being willing to “kill babies even after birth,” a reckless rephrasing of a lie he has repeated on multiple occasions.
Throughout his speech, Trump launched familiar attacks on various targets, including Ron DeSantis, a fellow Republican and his chief rival, and President Joe Biden, whom he baselessly accused of directing prosecutions against him. However, it was his statements about abortion that garnered significant attention and criticism.
Trump boasted about his appointment of more than 300 federal judges and three Supreme Court justices, suggesting that these appointments led to the end of Roe v. Wade. He claimed that pro-lifers now have the power to negotiate, despite the fact that the issue has been shifted back to the states.
Attempting to paint Democrats as radicals on the abortion issue, Trump made outrageous claims about their stance. He falsely asserted that Democrats are willing to kill babies in the later stages of pregnancy, even after birth. Such a claim is entirely baseless and not representative of the Democratic Party’s actual position.
I appointed over 300 federal judges and three great Supreme Court justices. And last year, those justices and you know exactly what they did. They ruled to end Roe v Wade. And now pro-lifers have a tremendous power to negotiate. You gave them a tremendous power to negotiate, which they didn’t have until this termination took place.
This moves the issue back to the states where all legal scholars, whether you believe in it or not in it, they felt it should be. And like Ronald Reagan, I support exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother.
And remember, the Democrats are the radicals on this issue because they’re willing to kill babies in their fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth month, and they’re willing to kill babies even after birth. And they are the extremists. They are the radicals.
And politicians running for office cannot allow this to happen and cannot let them get away with what they do. They try and politicize that issue. And we can’t let them get away. We did a phenomenal thing for our country and for life.
In reality, President Biden and the Democratic Party support codifying the standard of “viability” established by Roe v. Wade, which generally falls around 22 to 24 weeks of pregnancy, though it may vary depending on the calculation method. This position aligns with the views of most elected Democrats and seeks to protect women’s reproductive rights while recognizing the importance of the viability threshold.
Fox News reporter Jacqui Heinrich had previously pointed out Biden’s stance on the issue, emphasizing that Democrats’ position is far from what Trump portrayed in his speech. Nevertheless, Trump continued to push this false narrative, further polarizing the already contentious issue of abortion.
