Hi Rulers, happy Friday. Congratulations to women’s civic education organization All In Together for celebrating its 10-year anniversary! Let’s get into it: Last week, presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump finally laid out a clear position on abortion: leave it up to the states — a stance that seemed to be an attempt by the former president to appear more moderate on the issue. The swift Democratic response marked a new phase in President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign, as they try to deflect any notions that Trump is softening his abortion stance by tying the former president to the most extreme state abortion restrictions. After Trump’s video statement, the Biden campaign released a statement of their own, saying that Trump has “gotten his wish” that “women must be punished for seeking reproductive health care.” The campaign promptly released an ad about a woman who was denied reproductive care in Texas and blamed Trump for the 1864 abortion ban that Arizona’s Supreme Court upheld the following day. But still, Trump’s policy announcement poses a threat to the Biden campaign: Some voters might see Trump’s shift as a softening on abortion, the very issue which Biden hopes to ride to a second term. This week, I spoke with Alexandra LaManna, a Democratic strategist, about the Biden campaign’s response to Trump’s policy announcement. LaManna was a White House spokesperson for Biden when Roe was overturned, and she focused on reproductive rights. Here’s our conversation, which has been edited for length and clarity. Gardner: What was it like working in the Biden administration when Roe was overturned? LaManna: We all knew what was coming, but it was still a shock. The amazing Gender Policy Council had done a ton of work leading up to the decision, and it was important that we showed people just how strongly the president disagreed with it and what actions within his power he was taking to protect women. The president called the decision a “solemn moment”; inside the White House it felt like a gut punch — but also it was a starting gun to make sure that we were demonstrating the genuine care and empathy the president had for women whose lives would be impacted by the decision, and that he wasn’t backing down from fighting for them. Gardner: What was your reaction to how the Biden campaign responded to Trump’s announcement that he wants to leave abortion policy to the states? LaManna: They're not letting him get away with it. [Trump] recognizes this as a huge political liability for himself and it's really smart that the [Biden] campaign isn't letting him get away with it. The way that he talks always makes it hard to pin him down, and I think that's why you're seeing so much coming out of the campaign now. Reminding people that he's the reason that we're even here is really important. He appointed three anti-abortion Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe and he paved the way for Republican led states to ban abortion — and [the Biden campaign] is not letting up in making sure that people know that. Gardner: The Biden campaign has tried to do that in a couple of ways. They released a statement blaming him for overturning Roe and said that he would still sign a national abortion ban if elected, they released an ad about a Texas woman who was denied reproductive health care, which ends with the words “Donald Trump did this,” and Kamala Harris announced a trip to Arizona where she’ll likely talk about the 1864 abortion ban. Is there anything else they should be doing? LaManna: I don't think this is the campaign's job necessarily, but I think it's important for people who are supportive of Biden and of women's rights to remember that Trump does not respect women. He's defending himself against criminal indictments for paying off a porn star. Twenty-six women have accused him of sexual assault or harassment. He owes $100 million or so because he was found liable for rape and then couldn't stop calling his accuser a liar. Gardner: The Biden campaign is releasing ads where women will talk about their personal experiences being denied reproductive care, but Biden himself didn't appear in the most recent one. Do you think that’s the right choice? LaManna: Abortion is an issue that's bigger than President Biden. The way that he talks about it helps expand the coalition of people who will vote for him and Vice President [Kamala] Harris on this issue. You’ve seen for the past two years that abortion has just been a losing issue for Republicans and a winning one for Democrats. The way that the president speaks about it is probably one of the major reasons why. Gardner: Biden often faces criticism from the left for not using the word “abortion” often enough and mainly sharing the stories of women who needed an abortion for medical reasons instead of from women who simply chose to have an abortion. Is that a political liability? LaManna: I don't think it's a liability because people know exactly where he stands. He's the only candidate here who wants to restore Roe. [Editor’s note: Some third party candidates, like Cornel West and Jill Stein, have also expressed broad support for restoring abortion rights.] I think it actually is kind of a beautiful thing about politics — even if you don't believe in something for yourself, if you stand up for people who want it for themselves, that's actually the mark of a strong leader. Gardner: From a comms perspective, do you think it was smart for Trump to come out and say, ‘Leave abortion to the states?’ LaManna: It's exactly Trump's playbook, and you can argue that that playbook has somewhat worked for him in the past. I mean, yes, he's lost the popular vote twice and lost the election once. But he does have an effective communication style. But more importantly, the way that the modern media is structured, we still haven't figured out how to cover him. In a world of headlines and tweet-length takes, it actually did give people pause about whether he actually did change his position. I don't support or agree with much that he does. From a communications perspective, I think a lot of his strategies are malpractice. But I think it was effective to muddy the waters, which is what he always tries to do.
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