Trump’s Telling Evangelical Leaders The GOP Has An Abortion Problem

Well, this is causing some stuff that’s been fuzzy recently to start coming into focus.  There have been (admittedly soft) indications Trump’s support with Evangelicals is beginning to fray, with a couple of the leaders saying it’s time to move on.  Now, as noted in this article it seems some private discussions have been happening.   Trump isn’t the only person with clout in the GOP who is looking at the electoral backlash and realizing they personally and the GOP overall screwed the pooch.  Oh, they counted on a big uproar and a bit of backlash and then people would move on.  There’s still be anger, but other issues would take over and voters, who by a strong majority objected to rolling back reproductive rights would grudgingly accept the new situation.

The signs were there before SCOTUS did what it did but the GOP ignored them.  Many, including Trump remain shell-shocked over the midterms, and all the state level losses for the GOP.  That they’d have been much better off continuing to be the proverbial dog chasing the car.  But they caught it and are living in the nightmare version of “Be careful what you wish for.!  Worse, with SCOTUS having released the shackles so to speak state level GOP legislatures and Governors are passing ever more draconian stuff.  Stuff even some residents in their ruby red states are uncomfortable with.

The GOP has an abortion problem for sure.  Trump might not be smart, but he’s savvy often enough to matter and on this one he sees the situation all too well for his liking.  As does McConnell who dreamed of hanging on until the GOP retook the Senate and being able to retire in “glory” as Majority Leader.  THAT ain’t happening!   However, the anti-abortion snowball is headed downhill, picking up size and speed at an increasing rate and both Trump and non-zealots in the GOP realize how badly they misjudged the reaction to those judges and Justices they rammed through would be.

Voters, the (strong) majority of them are NOT forgetting, much less in a forgiving mood.  By all indications, the electoral price the GOP paid in the midterms is only the beginning.  A monster they can’t control is on the loose and its not limited to out of the way places like say Idaho.  Nope, DeSantis just signed (without fanfare it should be noted… Hmmmm) a six week abortion ban in Florida!  These red states, urged on by a small but vocal number of Republicans on Capitol Hill (who know nothing will pass at the federal level restricting or banning abortion but it makes great campaign fodder for them) are in a political death spiral trying to outdo each other seeing who can be the harshest.  The most cruel even towards those with unintended pregnancies.

So Trump, who knows he has zero chance of getting back to the WH and maybe not even getting the GOP nomination has been privately speaking with Evangelical leaders.  He’s telling them the GOP is in a fix electorally and that they need to tone things down, and even back off just a bit.  At least allow some concessions for rape or incest or the life of the mother.

My old, fat broken down and broke butt has more chance of a Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition supermodel showing up at my door and spending her weekend screwing my brains out!  Or the Cubs wining the World Series and the Bears winning the Super Bowl a few months later.   Not.  Gonna.  Happen.

Here’s Trump’s problem.  He’s always been transactional in every aspect of his life.  Like just about anyone he wanted as much as he could get while trading away as little as possible to get it.  Agreeing to give Evangelicals the judges/Justices they wanted it was a no-brainer for Trump.  That kind of “detail work” was never why he wanted to be President in the first place.  Besides, those same judges would hate stuff he hates too – like regulations!  Also it’s not like any woman in his life (or that of other well-off and/or connected Republicans) wouldn’t be able to get an abortion or prescription birth control.  That’s what medical tourism is for!

So when the Evangelical leaders proved equally transactional and promised to not only overlook all of Trump’s prior, current and future antics but enthusiastically support him, and in return only appoint judges and Justices McConnell and The Federalist Society had nurtured, “groomed” for decades it was an easy decision for Trump.  Like I said, Trump also knew those same judges would be happy to gut regulation and other stuff he and his rich cronies wanted.

However, as I noted earlier things are in motion.  Up there on SCOTUS Roberts, and perhaps even to a lesser degree Gorsuch are sh!!ing themselves as their other four Federalist Society groomed and approved Justices are doing happy dances over the prospect of upholding that ruling on the abortion pill from the maniac in Texas!  And this ruling is exactly the kind of thing Evangelicals leaders traded their morals for when they installed Trump in the WH.

Do you think for one second they thought “Maybe we should listen to Trump and dial back a bit?”  Not only no, but HELL NO (back in the Corps that expression didn’t use the word hell, but rather a word that rhymes with DUCK) was what they thought.  Here’s where it might, as I alluded to at the beginning perhaps come full circle.  Even if direct discussions have only taken place recently it’s safe to assume lower level emissaries have been passing thoughts back and forth.  That could explain any (again, not a lot) softening of Evangelical support for Trump.

Evangelical leaders, and via them their “flock” already got what they wanted.  Frankly it’s probably more than they thought they would get.  The federal courts are filled with numerous cases that have been carefully nurtured by their Federalist Society allies and they can expect more from their deal with Trump.  They made a deal with the devil and they intend to milk if for all it’s worth.  BUT, and here’s where it could get interesting they have likely been wanting someone else to take over the GOP.  The whole “Trump” without the Trump antics thing.  Someone that won’t make them experience the feeling of doing the proverbial “walk of shame” like they’d had a drunken tryst with a streetwalker in the parking lot of an evening sporting event with tailgaters looking on.

If I’m right I think Trump is playing with fire.  These people already got what they wanted from Trump and his picks for courts are going to be the ugly “gift that keeps on giving” for a tragically long time to come.  They don’t need him anymore!  But he needs them.  Telling them they need to ease off, at least for a while on abortion is like telling them to gang bang their Jeebus.  I believe the more they think about Trump’s please, the more offended they will be.  And if Trump keeps pushing it won’t end well for him.

We’ll see.  I think this is worth keeping an eye on.  Trump has mounting legal troubles and the last thing he needs is courting political trouble with a critical (for him) constituency.