Donald Trump received broad support at an annual gathering of religious conservatives on Friday despite the former president’s opposition to a federal abortion ban.
At the Faith & Freedom Coalition’s yearly conference in Washington, speaker after speaker championed Trump’s record on abortion while criticizing President Joe Biden‘s commitment to protecting access to the procedure.
Democrats have hammered Trump for appointing the Supreme Court justices who helped overturn Roe v. Wade, sparking a backlash from Democratic and even some Republican voters, but the former president attempted to neutralize the matter earlier this year when he argued that it should be left to the states.
The announcement represented a partial break with the evangelical voting bloc that helped send him to the White House in 2016 on the promise of appointing conservative justices, but attendees at the conference told the Washington Examiner they wanted to see Trump in the White House for another term.
“I don’t believe that he changed his position on abortion,” said Linda Lee Tarver, a Michigan resident and Black Americans for Trump member who attended the conference. “Consistently, he’s had these exemptions.
“What he did say is that it should be up to the states to decide what they want, and so that is where the dilemma is for some,” Tarver continued. “I’m pro-life without exception. And that is just where I’m at. Can I live with a president who really wants to kill babies up until the moment of birth like Joe Biden? No, I can’t.”
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), a speaker at the conference, pointed to the goodwill Trump built due to Roe being overturned two years ago on Monday as the key to why conservative Christians are backing Trump.
“We are supporting life,” Ernst said in an interview. “It was so important that we do that. And again, moving into the next election cycle, Americans have learned if you want to support life, support President Trump.”
Other Republican speakers spent portions of their speeches contrasting Trump, who will address the conference Saturday, with Biden, who has made abortion access a central plank of his reelection bid.
“This is the most pro-abortion president in the history of the country,” Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) said. “He’s literally taken away the federal funding for AIDS testing and cancer screening in my state because my state won’t put out a 1-800 number to every person in the state where they can get an abortion.”
In recent months, Trump has angered anti-abortion allies who want a federal abortion ban passed. During a trip to Washington last week, the former president again reiterated to Senate and House Republicans that abortion restrictions should be decided at the state level, also advising that the party paint Democrats as too radical when the matter comes up.
However, Democrats are hoping that keeping abortion at the top of voters’ minds will propel Biden and down-ballot candidates to victory in November, despite voter dissatisfaction with the president and high grocery and gas prices. Abortion galvanized voters during the 2022 midterm and 2023 off-year elections, blunting severe losses for Democrats and giving the party hope for another repeat in the fall.
“Republicans say that they have a messaging problem on reproductive freedom and abortion care,” said Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN), the vice chairwoman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, during a press briefing on Thursday. “No, they have a policy problem because they’re on the wrong side of American voters.”
According to a May Pew Research Center survey, 63% of U.S. adults said abortion should be legal in all or most cases. Yet 73% of white evangelical Protestants said abortion should be illegal in all or most cases. A June Gallup poll showed a record-high 32% of voters expressing they would only vote for a candidate for major office who shares their views on abortion.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Trump’s ability to persuade voters who fear abortion bans is unclear, but attendees at the conference suggested that he still has a well of support from Christian voters.
“I’m 100% what Trump stands (for) on abortion,” said Cynthia Smith, an Escarosa, Florida, chapter leader with the Independent Women’s Network. “This is what we have to do. Bring back our values, our Christian faith back into our lives and umbrella for our children in our homes.”
Amy DeLaura contributed to this report.
