You in this for the long-haul, detective?

 Earlier today, Donald Trump posted the following on his Truth Social app: 

"My Administration will be great for women and their reproductive rights https://x.com/DailyCaller/status/1827020030942326936

To begin, yes, this post is unmistakably dumb. Trump has been doing well with the evangelical vote--and this will likely hurt that to some degree. I, too, completely disagree with his framing of the subject, but that is a topic for a later date. 

This post, and the reactions to it, however, warrant comment. No, not as a defense of Trump; rather, a commentary and critique of the pro-life movement. 

First, we have Neil Shenvi: 

https://x.com/NeilShenvi/status/1827032113503404339

I can't claim to know much about Mr. Shenvi, but from what I have seen, he seems like a well enough chap and respected apologist. This post of his, however, demonstrates a visceral reaction to a (dumb) post. And when we examine more closely, his reaction is very simpleminded.

1) I am not sure what he means by "the long term costs of a Trump presidency." Is it the "Trumpification of the GOP" argument? If so, you can cry and moan about it all you want, but the pre-Trump GOP and, of course, the democratic party, are the cause of Trump. A history of idiotic trade deals (NAFTA, TPP), foreign adventurism (Iraq, Libya, Syria) and the off-shoring of our manufacturing is what made people desperate enough to vote for a former game show host who spoke to these concerns; cf. Salena Zito, The Great Revolt (Cymbolix) and Lainey Newman Rust Belt Union Blues (Columbia University Press). Of course, it is hotly debated whether or not Trump actually succeeded in remedying these issues. But that is not the point of the post.

2) Say what you want about Trump and his conservative bona fides (which, to me, are indeed lacking), but at the end of the day, we were able to secure three decent SCOTUS judges, a la Barrett, Kavanaugh and Gorsuch. Those picks were instrumental in overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022. If sitting out the 2016 election lead to Hillary Clinton, what would have happened to Roe? Well, we all know the answer to this.

3) A broader point: what has the pro-life lobby done? In its existence, we have only seen the perception of abortion become less and less hostile. According to Pew Research:

Currently, 63% say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, while 36% say it should be illegal in all or most cases. (https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/fact-sheet/public-opinion-on-abortion/)

And Gallup reports to us:

Gallup's 2024 abortion update finds more Americans continuing to self-identify as "pro-choice" (54%) rather than "pro-life" (41%) on abortion. From 2007 to 2021, no more than 50% of Americans identified as pro-choice. (https://news.gallup.com/poll/321143/americans-stand-abortion.aspx)

What have these so called "principled conservative" never-Trumpers done to prevent this? I'll wait...because I certainly can't think of anything.

4) Apropos the statistics in 3), if we truly care about the life of the unborn, we must adjust accordingly. This hurts in the depths of my soul to say, but we have to play the long game. In the current climate, you cannot run on something like a federal abortion ban. Republicans will likely lose midterm after midterm for years to come. After stacking up those consecutive losses, what do you think could be done then? How many more babies will now end up dying?

This is why the Overton window must shift back to a more pro-life view before we get the ideal abortion legislation to be voted on. In the meantime: stack up small wins as well and shift the culture rightward slowly.

5) Of course, not to defend the idiocy of the Trump post, but it gets at something: shift the Overton window.

Next, a brief post from the otherwise fantastic Dr. Jordan Cooper:

https://x.com/DrJordanBCooper/status/1827041825732841710

 1) In my experience, the never-Trumpers were always going to feel "vindicated." They opposed Trump from the get-go. They didn't like his policy proposal on trade--clearly favoring a free trade approach as opposed to protectionism; they disagreed with his foreign policy--favoring less restraint, being more hawkish. It is not as if they had suddenly became pro-Trump during his time in office and now, months before the election, abandoned ship.

2) To reiterate, Trump was never elected because of his conservative bona fides. His personal life is well known. He was elected because he spoke to (whether you think it was sincere or not does NOT matter here) previously disenfranchised men and women in the Rust Belt. Indeed, in picking up the white working class vote, Trump took away a previous democrat stronghold. 

3) Again, Trump is fundamentally a response to 30 some years of failed governance from both the old guard GOP and democratic party. Hate Trump? The old guard should look inward. 

Before concluding, I would like to state emphatically that this is neither a pro or anti-Trump post. Trump's post - and the man more broadly - make a good launching pad to discuss the shortcomings of the GOP and the so called pro life movement.