Good morning. There are only 209 days left until the election, and Donald Trump is feeling the pressure.
But not from the sun that disappeared on Monday. And the world has not ended! There was not even a plague of locusts or killing of crows. What a disappointment, especially for Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who was so excited that the eclipse was a warning from her God.
“God is sending America strong signals asking us to repent,” she posted on X.
the news
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Later, she asserted: “Yes, eclipses can be predicted, earthquakes happen, and we know when comets pass, but God created all of these things and uses them to be signs for those of us who believe.”
Just a thought: What if the gods used eclipses to tell us that everything is wonderful? Like, you guys are doing great, so do you have a great gift?
Anyway, this is for all the suburban soccer moms (I don't hate, I cut my share of oranges) and those who vote as one.
Trump kick
Remember Trump taking credit for destroying Roe v. Wade? The man who has declared himself several times “the person proudly responsible for ending” national abortion protections?
Well, meet the new Trump, the man who wants it both ways: an anti-abortion warrior but also, whatever you want is fine with me.
So far I've heard that Trump posted a four-minute video on Monday (heavily edited and full of bizarre bits) aggressively dodging the issue of a federal abortion ban, despite the fact that he's done so at least four times in recent months. He indicated support for a 15-week national ban.
Instead, he now says abortion should be a state issue, and “whatever they decide should be the law of the land.”
Suddenly, he was Mr. Reasonable, while, as Reproductive Freedom for All President and CEO Minnie Timaraju noted, “trying to neutralize” what had become a political obstruction.
Small numbers and strong voters
It's pretty clear that support for strict restrictions on abortion has become extremely distasteful in this election — despite the raucous jubilation from MAGA extremists who think oppressing women is a great thing.
A recent KFF poll found that 67% of women consider abortion the most important issue in the election, as do 21% of independent voters.
The authors of this poll found that while most people are made up about the issue and candidates, abortion “may move small numbers” of voters in key demographics.
These voters are important.
These small margins — especially in swing states — could cost Trump the election, said Mike Madrid, founder of the Lincoln Project and author of the upcoming book “The Latin Century.”
“He needs to stop the bleeding,” Madrid said via text message.
He added that Trump's advisors realize that they “overestimated their capabilities” and are concerned about being “branded as extremists.” Because since 2016, the party seen as more extreme has lost.
So Trump is floundering, trying to find a niche that will shift the focus away from reproductive rights, where he is undeniably extreme.
Even Trump seemed to acknowledge that this maneuver was a weak attempt to get votes.
“You have to follow your heart on this issue,” he added. “But remember, you must also win elections to restore our culture and, in fact, to save our country.”
We are not that stupid
“The damage is done,” Madrid said. “It's like saying, 'I'm going to require all cars to have seat belts' after we remove the brakes.”
Indeed, the brakes were gone.
According to the Guttmacher Institute, which tracks reproductive health policy, 20 states have abortion bans that could go into effect before a woman even realizes she is pregnant; 14 of these ban abortion completely.
This ban has created a reproductive health care desert in the South, where a woman who wants an abortion must travel hours or days outside the region — making it nearly impossible for poor women. One in five women now must travel to receive abortion care.
But countries are not satisfied with this. Some Texas counties have laws that seek to penalize women for traveling for an abortion. Other states, including Idaho, Alabama and Oklahoma, are trying to follow suit.
Women have been charged criminally for having abortions, and last week, a leaked video showed Texas Republicans considering the death penalty for women who have abortions.
So we are now talking about forced births – sometimes without exception for rape or incest.
Trump may want us to believe he's reached his moment of maturity on reproductive rights, but all you have to do is watch the video to see him go off the rails. Halfway through, he started talking about the way we currently execute children. (Execution of children is illegal and does not occur, for those who need clarification.)
“We must remember that the Democrats are the outliers in this position because they support abortion up to the ninth month and even beyond,” Trump said. “The concept of abortion in the following months and even execution after birth. And that's exactly what it is. “The child is born, and the child is executed after his birth, and this is unacceptable.”
I realize the grammar on that is terrible, but that's verbatim from his “manifesto on life.”
As Timaraju said, the aim was clearly to let his people know that he was still with them.
“That wasn't even a dog whistle. That was a big neon sign for Extreme Jobs.” “I don't know how you can keep separating insanity from these other phrases.”
Although Trump spent the first part of his speech Monday extolling how much he loves IVF and strongly supports “couples trying to have a precious baby,” it is the same legal issue. (Author's note: Except for you LGBTQ+ people. I'm not sure he supports your rights.)
Ultimately, no miscarriage means no in vitro fertilization. Because once this embryo is created, it becomes a precious child under the “pregnancy is life” argument.
No matter how twisted some Republicans get about IVF, the truth is that a fetus in the womb is no different than a fetus in the refrigerator. You can't say that one is life and the other is like the sofa in the pantry.
Then, of course, there are the states that accept bans on contraception, which some consider a form of abortion.
So the future of states' rights is no contraception, no abortion, no traveling to get one.
This certainly makes more sense.
Once a liar
Mitchell, the data expert, said Trump's “mixture” of statements was unlikely to shift focus from abortion, making it a “mistake.”
Leaving it to the states may seem like a good thing to uncertain conservative or independent voters in places like California — at first — but a little critical thinking is likely to get them back into the swamp of doubt.
“He did not solve the problem himself; “He just put it off,” Mitchell told me. And not even for long.
Within hours of Trump's announcement, Biden's campaign was collecting donations from him.
“Let's be clear: Trump is betting that we will stop caring. That we will get distracted. 'Disappointed,'” Biden's headquarters texted early Monday afternoon.
Mitchell points out that voters often believe that taking the right position on an issue is what makes a candidate strong. But in his experience, what really works is keeping voters focused on strong issues.
For Trump, this could be immigration. He's been bombing “crowds” at the border for multiple election cycles and upping the ante in doing so, especially in swing states — I'll look closely at how he does that on Thursday.
But for now, the takeaway from Trump's new stance on abortion is that it's a quibble, not a change. This can best be seen in the response of his supporters.
The Susan B. Anthony Pro Life America group swore that it was “deeply disappointed in President Trump's stance” but would also “work tirelessly to defeat President Biden and the extremist Democrats in Congress.”
This is a weak conviction, which makes me think that even Republicans know he is lying.
Finally, something we can all agree on.
What should you read?
What to read: Major Democratic group pours $186 million into battle for House and prepares for 'trench warfare' with GOP
'The Only One in America': NAIA bans all transgender women from women's sports
The LA Times Special: RFK Jr. He speaks frankly about his raspy voice: “If I could sound better, I would.”
stay golden,
Anita Chhabria
Note: You may have seen photos of the eclipse by now, but here's one of the best composite images, from Times photographer Kelvin Coe.
Monday's solar eclipse as seen from Long Beach.
(Kelvin Kuo/Los Angeles Times)
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