CHRIS MATTHEWS: “Should abortion be punished? This is not something you can dodge.”
TRUMP: Look, people in certain parts of the Republican Party, conservative Republicans, would say, ‘Yes, it should,’
MATTHEWS: How about you?
TRUMP: I would say it’s a very serious problem and it’s a problem we have to decide on. Are you going to send them to jail?”
MATTHEWS: I’m asking you.
TRUMP: I am pro-life.
MATTHEWS: How do you actually ban abortion?
TRUMP: Well, you go back to a position like they had where they would perhaps go to illegal places but we have to ban it. There has to be some form of punishment.
MATTHEWS: For the woman?
TRUMP: Yeah (nodding head)
MATTHEWS: Do you believe in punishment for abortion, yes or no, as a principle?
TRUMP: The answer is there has to be some form of punishment.
MATTHEWS: For the woman?
TRUMP: Yes.
MATTHEWS: 10 cents, 10 years, what?
TRUMP: I don’t know. That I don’t know.
Trump was also asked if the man should be held responsible. "Different feelings. Different people," Trump responded. "I would say no."
*UPDATE: "Trump Advocates Abortion Ban, Walks Back 'Punishment' for Women Remark"-NBC
GREEN BAY, Wisconsin — After saying on Wednesday that he believes there should be punishment for women who undergo abortions if the procedure was outlawed, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump walked back the comment hours later.
In an exclusive interview with MSNBC's Chris Matthews, the GOP front-runner described himself multiple times as "pro-life" but struggled to define what the legal ramifications of that position should be. When continually pressed for what the answer is regarding punishing women who would break any theoretical ban, Trump said the "answer is that there has to be some form of punishment, yeah."
Later in the day, his campaign released a statement refocusing who would be punished should abortion become illegal. "If Congress were to pass legislation making abortion illegal and the federal courts upheld this legislation, or any state were permitted to ban abortion under state and federal law, the doctor or any other person performing this illegal act upon a woman would be held legally responsible, not the woman," the statement said. "The woman is a victim in this case as is the life in her womb. My position has not changed — like Ronald Reagan, I am pro-life with exceptions."
TRUMP: Look, people in certain parts of the Republican Party, conservative Republicans, would say, ‘Yes, it should,’
MATTHEWS: How about you?
TRUMP: I would say it’s a very serious problem and it’s a problem we have to decide on. Are you going to send them to jail?”
MATTHEWS: I’m asking you.
TRUMP: I am pro-life.
MATTHEWS: How do you actually ban abortion?
TRUMP: Well, you go back to a position like they had where they would perhaps go to illegal places but we have to ban it. There has to be some form of punishment.
MATTHEWS: For the woman?
TRUMP: Yeah (nodding head)
MATTHEWS: Do you believe in punishment for abortion, yes or no, as a principle?
TRUMP: The answer is there has to be some form of punishment.
MATTHEWS: For the woman?
TRUMP: Yes.
MATTHEWS: 10 cents, 10 years, what?
TRUMP: I don’t know. That I don’t know.
Trump was also asked if the man should be held responsible. "Different feelings. Different people," Trump responded. "I would say no."
*UPDATE: "Trump Advocates Abortion Ban, Walks Back 'Punishment' for Women Remark"-NBC
GREEN BAY, Wisconsin — After saying on Wednesday that he believes there should be punishment for women who undergo abortions if the procedure was outlawed, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump walked back the comment hours later.
In an exclusive interview with MSNBC's Chris Matthews, the GOP front-runner described himself multiple times as "pro-life" but struggled to define what the legal ramifications of that position should be. When continually pressed for what the answer is regarding punishing women who would break any theoretical ban, Trump said the "answer is that there has to be some form of punishment, yeah."
Later in the day, his campaign released a statement refocusing who would be punished should abortion become illegal. "If Congress were to pass legislation making abortion illegal and the federal courts upheld this legislation, or any state were permitted to ban abortion under state and federal law, the doctor or any other person performing this illegal act upon a woman would be held legally responsible, not the woman," the statement said. "The woman is a victim in this case as is the life in her womb. My position has not changed — like Ronald Reagan, I am pro-life with exceptions."
Trump, you have weird definitions of things: "tape," "statement," "grab," "shout," now, "My position has not changed." IT HAS CHANGED YOU JACKANAPES! IT CHANGED FROM THIS MORNING TO THIS EVENING!
