Why Donald Trump is repeating a smear about Democrats wanting to ‘execute’ babies

Former President Donald Trump finally responded to criticism of his murky stance on reproductive rights on Monday and issued a video statement outlining abortion policy under a Trump second term.

The four-minute address was posted to his Truth Social media platform and proclaimed that the GOP would remain fundamentally opposed to abortion rights under his leadership.

“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,” said Mr Trump.

He added: “Many states will be different, many will have a different number of weeks, or some will have more conservative than others and that’s what they will be. At the end of the day, this is all about the will of the people.”

In short: the former president would encourage states to set their own policies determining the extent of a woman’s right to an abortion — if it is recognised at all. Notably, Mr Trump did not say that he would reject legislation banning the practice after a certain point in the pregnancy at the national level, a key carve-out that lays the groundwork for a future rightward shift.

And Mr Trump also repeated one of his favourite smears: the claim that Democrats want abortion to be legal up until the point of childbirth, and even after a baby is born — murder of a living person, as it’s more commonly known. It’s an egregious accusation that is not based in any real policy supported by a single elected Democrat in the country, and one that seems particularly alarmist given the fact that the incumbent Democratic president appears personally uncomfortable with even using the term “abortion” and has only pledged to go