Trump woos evangelicals
WASHINGTON — With a fierce denunciation of late-term abortions, President Donald Trump made his move Tuesday night to re-energize evangelical voters whose support will be vital in heading off any possible 2020 primary challenge.
Trump seized on abortion during his State of the Union address to re-engage on a divisive cultural issue, using both religious rhetoric aimed at conservative Christians and scathing attacks on Democratic lawmakers who support abortion rights — in particular, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam.
Trump went after Northam — by title, not by name — in his speech and incorrectly said that the governor “stated he would execute a baby after birth.”
The message from Trump was aimed squarely at evangelicals who play an outsized role in Republican politics.
Ralph Reed, a prominent GOP evangelical strategist, said the White House worked closely with evangelicals during the fight over Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination, but contact dropped off during the midterm elections and the government shutdown.
“Now we see it picking up again,” Reed said, calling Trump’s State of the Union comments “important and deeply appreciated.”
Religious voters, including Roman Catholics in the industrial Midwest, will be a key constituency in a Trump re-election, Reed said.
The anti-abortion message is expected to be in the spotlight again Thursday as the president attends the National Prayer Breakfast.
“To defend the dignity of every person,
I am asking Congress to pass legislation to prohibit the late-term abortion of children who can feel pain in the mother’s womb,” Trump said in this speech Tuesday. “Let us work together to build a culture that cherishes innocent life. And let us reaffirm a fundamental truth: All children — born and unborn — are made in the holy image of God.”
The White House did not immediately reveal if it had a firm plan for federal legislation or supported an existing congressional measure.
In his address, Trump also made it clear that he’ll make an aggressive argument against socialism and illegal immigration in an effort to preserve his coalition of white workingclass men across the industrial Midwest. Republican operatives quickly latched onto Trump’s reference to resisting socialism, eager to rally behind a message less likely to alienate the more-educated suburban women who turned their backs on the GOP last fall.