Donald Trump prefers a national 16-week abortion ban with exceptions for rape, incest, and in life-threatening cases for the mother, two people involved in private conversations with the former president told TheNew York Times. He allegedly told his inner circle that his reasoning is partially motivated by the appealing roundness of the number 16. “It’s even. It’s exactly four months,” he said. The comments shed new light on the presidential candidate’s stance toward abortion post-Roe: In the past, Trump avoided taking a clear position on the divisive issue, and has privately said he wants to wait until he has his party’s nomination to avoid alienating those who want a stricter abortion ban. Yet, the sources said, Trump often asks for potential running mates’ stances on abortion and is adamant that they support “the three exceptions.” The former president allegedly believes that the Supreme Court’s 2022 overturn of Roe v. Wade is directly responsible for Republican electoral losses since then—even though his appointment of three justices to a conservative court majority enabled that decision.
