A high-ranking figure in conservative Christian politics has raised concerns about former President Donald Trump‘s recent positions on issues like abortion and in vitro fertilization (IVF).
Kentucky-based Southern Baptist leader Albert Mohler, 64, made the comments this week, warning the candidate’s inconsistency could be his undoing.
The comments came in response to recent statements from Trump on Truth Social, where said his administration would be ‘great for women and their reproductive rights’.
In April, the 78-year-old refused to endorse a national abortion ban, saying it should be up to individual states. In 2020, he said he wanted to overturn federal protections for the procedure, and would support a near-total ban.
In an interview with The New York Times, the president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary explained why this, along with statements from Trump saying his administration would require insurers to cover IVF, could alienate loyal voters.
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Kentucky-based Southern Baptist leader Albert Mohler, 64, made the comments this week, warning the candidate’s inconsistency could be his undoing
The comments came in response to recent statements from Trump saying his administration would be ‘great for women and their reproductive rights’ and that either the government or insurers will cover IVF
‘Trump is in grave danger,’ Mohler told host Astead W. Herndon on the paper’s podcast The Run-Up.
‘[He] is basically daring the pro-life movement to turn on him,’ he added of the comments on Truth Social.
Referencing deviations from the conservative’s two prior campaigns, Mohler added: ‘I have no idea what Donald Trump really believes about abortion,’
‘Donald Trump is either gonna win or lose this election,’ the Louisville Baptist concluded.
‘And I think it’ll, in large part, be on this question in terms of the intensity with which conservative voters, pro-life voters either vote for him or don’t.
‘And that’s my warning.’
Mohler, who in 2020 was subject to a more than 11,000-strong petition from fellow Christians for his ‘failure to condemn systemic racism and police violence’ during the George Floyd protests, went on to turn his attention to IVF.
The popular, completely legal procedure allows women to extract eggs from their ovaries to be fertilized by sperm in a lab, though when the frozen embryos are thawed and prepared for transfer, they are sometimes destroyed.
They also came in response to recent statements on the former president’s Truth Social, where said his administration would be ‘great for women and their reproductive rights’
In April, the 78-year-old refused to endorse a national abortion ban, after previously taking credit for the nixing of Roe v. Wade
This has alarmed some who view the destruction of human embryos as immoral – unrest that’s been renewed after Trump last week that either the government or private insurance companies will cover the cost of the procedures that costs tens of thousands of dollars with no guarantee of success.
‘We are going to be, under the Trump administration, we are going to be paying for that treatment,’ Trump told NBC News and other news stations on the campaign trail August 29, during stops in Michigan and Wisconsin.
‘We’re going to be mandating that the insurance company pay.’
The declaration served as a swift about-face for the man who supported Supreme Court justices who struck down Roe v. Wade, and came shortly after Trump received criticism for previous policy proposals.
One policy singled out was his 2017 tax plan that many said favored the wealthy, seemingly leading the Republican to abruptly announce last month that he would eliminate taxes on tips for service workers.
Facing similar criticism for effectively striking down federal abortion rights, the aspiring president has now running on protecting IVF, no matter the cost.
This, coupled with Trump long going back and forth on abortion, has frustrated Mohler to no end, the preacher said Thursday.
Suggesting that without support from anti-abortion voters, Trump’s path to victory may be jeopardized, Mohler said Trump’s comments reflect ‘disorganization’, and that his comments about IVF show a lack of understanding.
The preacher who was once the subject to a more than 11,000-strong petition from fellow Christians for his ‘failure to condemn systemic racism and police violence’ during the George Floyd protests said these reversals are sure to jeopardize his campaign
‘I believe nothing less than the sacredness and dignity of human life is at stake,’ Mohler said, claiming that younger evangelical voters are now showing less enthusiasm for the Republican than in previous election bids.
‘I don’t think he understands all that is involved there,’ he added of Trump’s newfound appreciation for IVF, which he has openly panned at his own congregation.
‘I hear far, far less excitement about a Donald Trump campaign,’ he said – while conceding that compared to Harris, the politician is still the ‘lesser of two evils.’
Trump, meanwhile, continues to pivot from supporting national restrictions that could prove a hindrance for Republicans struggling to win back key groups – such suburban women – who have strayed from the GOP in recent years.
However, he remains eager to take credit fr the reversal of Roe v. Wade, despite deflecting authority on abortion back on the states.
‘The states will determine by vote or legislation or perhaps both. And whatever they decide must be the law of the land,’ Trump said of abortion rights in April. ‘Now, it’s up to the states to do the right thing.’