The Trump Campaign is the circus in town
This piece first appeared in our weekly newsletter, The Fallout.
The first presidential election since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade is turning out to be a total clown show for conservatives. J.D. Vance is weird when he orders doughnuts. Donald Trump talks incoherently about mifepristone or whatever shiny object catches his attention. Which, what?! The spectacle would maybe be entertaining if this weren’t the most consequential presidential election of our lifetimes.
I’m convinced the chaos of it all is a big part of their election strategy, because the more outrageously Trump and Vance behave, the less attention the media will give to the deadly consequences of a second Trump term.
No matter what Trump serves up on abortion, the fact is the conservative legal movement remains hell-bent on enacting some kind of national abortion ban, whether via legislation or simple, draconian enforcement of the Comstock Act. The “leave it to the states” argument fails to mention that in 2024 four states will have introduced legislation criminalizing non-parental adults who assist minors traveling out of state for abortion care. Tennessee has also passed its own law. Conservatives certainly don’t highlight the fact that they are champing at the bit to prosecute patients for accessing care in addition to the providers and aid organizations facilitating it.
And they’re definitely not talking about how their plans for enshrining fetal “personhood” into law would eliminate access to in vitro fertilization, threaten contraception access, and drastically expand the criminal surveillance of people who can get pregnant.
Nope. The media seems more interested in the circus Trump and his campaign have put on than holding them accountable for the consequences that would follow a Roe overturn.
