Newly minted conservative hero Donald Trump has been criticized recently for donating over $100,000 to the Clinton Foundation.
He’s now coming under fire for telling the late Tim Russert during an episode of “Meet the Press” in 1999 that he did not support banning partial-birth abortion and that he was “very pro-choice.”
Here’s the video with the full transcript:
RUSSERT: Partial-birth abortion. The eliminating of abortion in the third trimester. Big issue in Washington. Would President Trump ban partial-birth abortion.
TRUMP: Well look, I’m, I’m, very pro-choice. I hate the concept of abortion. I hate it. I hate everything it stands for. I cringe when I listen to people debating the subject. But you still, I just believe in choice. And again, it may be a little bit of a New York background because there is some different attitude in different parts of the country, and you know I was raised in New York and grew up and work and everything else in New York City. And I am strongly for choice, and yet I hate the concept of abortion.
RUSSERT: But you would not ban it or ban partial-birth abortion?
TRUMP: No, I would not, I would not, I am, I am very pro-choice in every respect and as far as it goes, but I just hate it.
Trump has since publicly stated, as recently as January of this year, that he is pro-life and that it’s a “strong issue” for him.
He may be pro-life now, however, he has not yet publicly supported “The Pain Capable Unborn Protection Act” which would ban abortions at the 20th week, when the unborn child can feel pain. The 20-week bill has the public support of almost the entire 2016 Republican field, including Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio, and was signed into law yesterday in Wisconsin by Gov. Scott Walker.
This isn’t the only issue where Trump has had liberal tendencies. According to The Washington Post, Trump also used to support assault weapons bans and universal healthcare and was even a registered Democrat from 2001 until 2009.
Can conservatives trust The Donald? We will find out.
Terry Schilling is the executive director of American Principles in Action.
