Donald Trump started Monday by staking his official incoherent position on abortion in a too-many-minutes-long speech packed with lies. Like ending Roe v. Wade was something that “all legal scholars—both sides—wanted, and, in fact, demanded.” And his assertion that Democrats “are the radical ones on this position because they support abortion up to and even beyond the ninth month.”
CNN’s Jim Acosta quickly fact-checked both of those claims.
“Democrats do not believe in execution after birth,” he said, and then cited a recent poll showing broad support for the federal right to an abortion.
CNN’s Daniel Dale also fact-checked Trump’s strange claim that “all legal scholars” wanted the court to overturn Roe v. Wade. He spoke with several legal scholars who called out the lie.
“Any claim that all legal scholars wanted Roe overturned is mind-numbingly false,” Rutgers Law School professor Kimberly Mutcherson told Dale. While many legal scholars believed Roe was “too narrow,” she said, “the call was to strengthen Roe, certainly not to overturn it and give states the power to deprive women of such a basic right of control over their bodies and futures.”
Yale Law School professor Reva Siegel also made it clear that Trump is 100% wrong.
“Please make clear that the facts are the opposite of Trump’s claims,” she said.
The Biden campaign was quick to release a new ad that emphasizes the cruelty of Trump’s anti-abortion position.