Trump says he's "looking at" allowing bans on birth control, backtracks after criticism

Last month, Donald Trump claimed credit for states passing abortion bans, noting it was only possible because the judges he nominated had overturned Roe v. Wade. What the Republican has carefully avoided saying, though, is whether he would also tolerate states going even further and limiting access to birth control.

But in a Tuesday interview, the former president suggested he is actually open to allowing the sort of state-level restrictions advocated by anti-choice activists in the GOP base.

“We’re looking at that, and I’m going to have a policy on that very shortly, and I think it’s something that you’ll find interesting,” Trump told Pittsburgh's KDKA News. “I think it’s a smart decision. But we’ll be releasing it very soon.”

The Biden campaign, which has already been attacking Trump’s opposition to reproductive rights, seized on the former president's remarks.

“Women across the country, are already suffering from Donald Trump’s post-Roe nightmare, and if he wins a second term, it’s clear he wants to go even further by restricting access to birth control and emergency contraceptives,” Sarafina Chitika, Biden campaign spokeswoman said in a statement. 

In light of the reaction to his statements, Trump angrily took to his Truth Social website to clean up the mess.

“I HAVE NEVER, AND WILL NEVER ADVOCATE IMPOSING RESTRICTIONS OF BIRTH CONTROL, or other contraceptives,” he posted, claiming it was a "Democrat fabricated lie."

Of course, the question remains how President Trump would handle his Republican allies at the state level imposing such restrictions.

Virginia's GOP governor, Glenn Youngkin, just vetoed a measure that would have safeguarded the ability to get birth control, claiming it was not necessary because that access is protected by the Constitution. But, as critics noted, abortion too was once believed to be a constitutional right — one now prohibited by more than a dozen states.