AP Photo/Paul Sancya; Mario Tama/Getty Images; AP Photo/Susan Walsh
- President Biden is aiming to use abortion rights as a rallying cry for his political base this fall.
- But allies of Trump want to paint RFK Jr. as a "champion of choice" to drain votes from Biden.
- The pro-Trump allies are also looking to hurt Biden among Michigan voters upset about the conflict in Gaza.
President Joe Biden is promoting his reelection candidacy as the one best equipped to fight anti-abortion measures and restore Roe v. Wade — which was overturned due to conservative Supreme Court justices appointed by former President Donald Trump.
But allies of Trump are planning to muddle Biden's message on abortion by boosting Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as a "champion of choice" in an effort to siphon votes from the Democratic president to benefit the ex-president, according to The New York Times.
Trump's allies are also aiming to tout the record-high level of oil production under Biden to frustrate pro-environment progressives and push them toward Kennedy Jr. and Green Party candidate Jill Stein in the general election. these same allies are looking to undermine Biden in the key swing state of Michigan by promoting his support for Israel amid intense criticism from many Democrats over his handling of the conflict in Gaza, per The Times.
Trump's work to install anti-abortion judges during his term, as well as his desire to ramp up oil production and strengthen ties with Israel's government, would likely not be mentioned at all; the point is seemingly to weaken Biden among core groups whose turnout will be incredibly pivotal for the incumbent in a close contest.
According to the Times, the pro-Trump efforts will likely come from dark-money groups that aren't part of the official campaign.
Trump himself has expressed immense interest in the third-party campaigns and their impact on polling, according to aides who spoke with The Times.
Trump's allies are taking on a multi-faceted strategy in boosting third-party candidates as they believe that having additional individuals in the presidential race will help the ex-president.
But the issue of abortion, which could become a political liability for Trump, is set to have an outsized impact in the race.
In 2016, Trump tapped Mike Pence as his vice presidential nominee on the strength of the then-Indiana governor's appeal to evangelical voters whose support would be critical in the general election.
The gambit paid off, with the GOP ticket winning that year.
Over the course of his four years in office, Trump elevated Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, which moved it in a decidedly conservative direction and led to Roe's demise. The result of the court's 2022 decision has been a patchwork of anti-abortion laws in GOP-leaning states, while blue states have largely become havens for abortion rights.
Biden's support for abortion rights is already well-established, but Trump in recent months has sought to soften his position on the issue.
Last year, Trump called Florida's six-week abortion ban a "terrible mistake," much to the frustration of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who at the time was a presidential contender. And just this week, the former president threw cold water on a national abortion ban favored by many top conservatives and said that the issue should be decided at the statewide level.
Despite the pro-Trump push on abortion, Kennedy Jr.'s position on reproductive rights hasn't been as clear as Biden's stance.
In a February interview with The Washington Post following a controversial Alabama IVF court ruling, Kennedy Jr. said he felt that women "have the right to choose" regarding abortion. But at the time, he added that "there is a limitation on what the Constitution says."
When Kennedy Jr. was asked what he'd do to shore up reproductive rights as president, he told The Post: "I don't know, you tell me. What should I be doing?"