‘Morning Joe’ Panel Hilariously Melts Down Over Trump’s Latest Statement

Democrats previewed their strategy to pin down former President Donald Trump on the issue of abortion after the Republican leader announced on Monday that he would defer to the states on taking action to restrict the process.

Former Virginia Governor and Democratic presidential candidate Tim Kaine appeared on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” program Monday to provide the party’s reaction to Trump’s statement, released via video on Truth Social. A snippet of the interview posted on X shows Kaine grasping for ways in which Democrats will attempt to tie President Trump to every state-level action following the 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade.

“He’s proud that he’s stripped rights away from Americans that they’ve been able to count on for a century,” Kaine stated. “He’s fine with states criminalizing women. He’s fine with states giving bounties to those who might report somebody who terminates a pregnancy. Great. You put that out there and we Democrats and Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, we’re gonna say we believe that women’s reproductive freedoms should be protected in this country.”

Joe Scarborough added he was “surprised” that Trump didn’t try to “weasel out” of total opposition to a federal ban.

“What he just said was he supports Florida’s six-week ban,” he said, prompting Mika Brzezinski to chime in. “Insane,” she replied. Scarborough mentioned a Wisconsin law that he called a “total ban” though the state’s Republicans in January called for a binding statewide referendum to limit abortions after 14 weeks of pregnancy. Current state law prohibits abortions after 20 weeks, according to the AP.

“There are, again, crazy, extreme laws that have been passed that Donald Trump just said he supports and he salutes,” Scarborough added.

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In his video statement, President Trump said if elected he would continue to provide leadership that “will always support the creation of strong, healthy, and thriving American families.”

“We want to make it easier for mothers to have babies, not harder. That includes supporting the availability of fertility treatments like IVF in every state in Americans,” Trump added, saying he is “very pleased that the Alabama legislature has acted quickly and passed legislation that preserves the availability of IVF in Alabama.”

“The Republican Party should always be on the side of the miracle of life.”

Still, Trump’s opposition to a federal 15-week ban introduced by GOP Senators Tim Scott (R-SC) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) left some pro-life activists concerned that the former president is leaving a key issue off the table in 2024 that they say will galvanize the party’s base to turn out in November.

“We are deeply disappointed in President Trump’s position,” Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said in a statement. “Saying the issue is ‘back to the states’ cedes the national debate to the Democrats who are working relentlessly to enact legislation mandating abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy.”

Support for abortions in all or most cases remains supported by 61% of Americans, according to Pew Research, which tracked the issue up until the end of Roe v. Wade. Since then, other polls have shown a sharp rise in support, especially in cases of rape or incest, as well as the failure of further restrictions in conservative states including Kansas and Ohio. President Trump’s statement indicates his campaign will keep its focus on President Joe Biden’s failures on the southern border, sluggish economy, and persistently high inflation, all issues where he maintains a healthy level of support among voters.