We’ve shown how the Media Research Center talked around the Arizona Supreme Court’s extremist stance in upholding an 1864 law — made before Arizona was even a state — banning nearly all abortions in the state. In the midst of that, it also showed how willing it is to sell out its agenda to Donald Trump by praising him for diverging from anti-abortion extremism (like the MRC practices) and urging a less extreme stance. One exception, though, was the MRC’s resident anti-abortion extremist, Teirin-Rose Mandelburg, who lamented Trump’s relative moderation in an April 8 post:
On Monday, former President Donald Trump released a statement regarding his stance on abortion in which he insisted the issue of abortion should be left to states, instead of showing support for a federal ban on the brutal destruction of innocent life. The former president, who is the current frontrunner for the Republican nomination heading into the 2024 election, added he supported “exceptions” to infanticide restrictions, including in cases of rape, incest, and the ever-subjective “life of the mother.”
As a result, numerous pro-life individuals and groups slammed the “weak” statement.
[…]Trump also received criticism for not specifying a particular cut-off for elective abortions, and that he said he supports abortion in cases of rape, incest and to save the life of a mother. The first two of that list are red flags for pro-lifers, who believe that no matter how a baby is conceived, he or she is worthy of dignity, respect and the chance at life.
As for “life of the mother” exceptions, critics have pointed to the subjective definition of what constitutes a threat to a woman’s health or life under any given law, as a woman’s psychological and emotional distress are often used as justifications for murdering her innocent child.
[…]Time will tell how this plays out when the pro-life generation shows up to vote in November. My hope and prayer is that whoever is elected sees the innate value of every human life and works to encourage a culture that is all-in on protecting unborn babies.
But when late-night TV shows weighed in on Trump’s calculated moderation, it was time for the MRC’s comedy cop, Alex Christy, to hit the beat. Two of Christy’s favorite targets faced his rhetorical billy club in an April 10 post:
As conservatives debate the merits and demerits of Donald Trump endorsing a federalist policy on abortion, ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel and Comedy Central’s The Daily Show temp host Michael Kosta lamented that such a debate exists because, for them, even a moderate position on abortion is still extremist.
Trump’s abortion policy announcement coincided with news from the Arizona Supreme Court that ruled that an 1864 abortion law can be enforced. This did not sit well with Kosta. Amidst booing from the audience, Kosta agreed, “Yeah, this is crazy! Boo! Boo! This is crazy! Is Arizona really using an abortion law from the 1860s? Back then, there wasn’t even a test to become a doctor. It was just a gross guy saying, “I love looking at scabs. I want to be a doctor.”
[…]Kosta then shifted to Trump, and after playing a series of clips of the media reporting on his stance as well as Trump supporting IVF, he attacked Trump’s federalist position, “Donald Trump now says the states should choose their own abortion laws, although, I don’t know why that’s considered a moderate position. ‘As a reasonable man, I think only some women should be forced to give birth against their will, depending on which state they live in. It’s called common sense.’”
Over at ABC, Kimmel incorrectly believed there was a contradiction between Trump appointing three of the justices that overturned Roe v. Wade and leaving the issue to the states, “Trump appointed three of those judges to the Supreme Court, which led to overturning Roe v. Wade. But now, he’s saying he’s not for a federal law against abortion. He thinks the decision should be left to the states. Trump believes that every woman should have the right to drive 600 miles for health care.”
Kimmel then touched on the criticism Trump has gotten from pro-lifers, including Sen. Lindsey Graham and former Vice President Mike Pence, but Kimmel didn’t think the criticism was real. He thought it was all part of some elaborate plan to make Trump more acceptable to pro-abortion Republicans “But with Lindsey Graham, this is a game they’re playing because 7 out of 10 Americans believe women should have the right to choose and Republicans are losing elections on this so, Trump is gonna be the good guy or bad guy depending on which side you’re on. And then Lindsay will be on the other side, fitting hissy, saying Trump is too lenient to calm the pro-choice Republicans down. It’s like wrestling, but with guys who, if you saw them in their underpants, you’d throw up.”
Kimmel then turned to Arizona, “Meanwhile, the Arizona Supreme Court today ruled that the state has to follow a law from 1864 that makes getting an abortion a criminal offense with a sentence of two to five years. Isn’t that great? We’re playing by the 1864 rules now.”
No, performing an abortion could get you sent to jail, not getting one. So, much for Kimmel the Fact-Checker.
But given the mindset of right-wing anti-abortion extremism, there’s no reason not to jail women who get abortions — indeed, it’s arguably hypocritical for them not to jail women.
The next day, Christy got mad at NBC’s Seth Meyers for pointing out that Trump’s new stance isn’t as moderate as he wants you to think it is:
NBC’s Late Night host Seth Meyers brought out the bleep button on Wednesday’s show to angrily respond to a Fox Business segment suggesting Donald Trump’s federalist stance on abortion makes him a moderate or even pro-choice, as he labeled radio host Mark Simone a “piece of [bleep]” and a “mother[bleep].”
Meyers introduced the clip of Simone on Kudlow by declaring that “[Trump’s] allies think they can trick everyone into thinking he’s a moderate on abortion by lying and claiming he’ll leave it up to the states, which he won’t.”
In the clip, Simone responded to Trump’s position by arguing, “That makes him the pro-choice candidate, leave it up to the states.”
An angry Meyers replied, “This brings us to a statement we’re calling ‘Seth tries really hard not to lose his [bleep].’ Trump is the pro-choice candidate? Are you out of your [bleep]? I’m sorry, I believe you are mistaken. Your statements are misleading, and you are failing to provide an accurate good faith analysis of the facts. You’re inverting the truth for political purposes and gaslighting your viewers by grossly misrepresenting the details of the situation.”
Meyers continued, “Let me put it another way: you’re a [extended bleep] piece of [bleep]. Well, I failed! This has been ‘Seth tries really hard not to lose his [bleep].’”
Fox Business is not the first and certainly won’t be the last news program to discuss the political ramifications of abortion stances, but Meyers was not done ranting, “Also, let me just say, so cool to watch a couple dudes discuss an issue that literally hurts women as to whether or not it will hurt another dude, Donald Trump, at the ballot box.”
Rather than actually responding to Meyer’s arguments, Christy huffed: “Meyers likes to portray himself as the thinking man’s comedian who uses elaborate metaphors and analogies to make a point, but Wednesday’s show was just a bitter, angry man yelling into the wind.”