ABORTION/DEMS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump – who once described himself as ‘very pro-choice’ – burnished his anti-abortion credentials during his State of the Union address Tuesday [2-5-19] night with harsh attacks on recent state actions. Trump charged lawmakers in New York with having ‘cheered with delight’ after recently passing legislation to ‘allow a baby to be ripped from the mother’s womb moments before birth.’ He accused Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam of ‘basically’ stating that ‘he would execute a baby after birth’…It was the first time that Trump mentioned abortion in any of his three joint addresses to Congress since becoming president. Republicans see abortion as an issue that will help fire up Trump’s base for his 2020 re-election. That’s despite the fact that the new-Democratic majority in the House will prevent any anti-abortion legislation from getting to his desk. (House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s guests for the speech included Planned Parenthood president Leana Wen, who said Trump made ‘inaccurate and deliberately misleading claims about safe, legal abortion.’)”
–Maureen Groppe, “Here’s why Donald Trump attacked abortion in his State of the Union address,” USA Today, February 6, 2019 5:34 pm