No, JD Vance Did Not Win the Debate on Abortion

If you need an excellent instance of a mainstream information group rooting for Donald Trump to at the least preserve the polls even, right here’s the greatest: Politico claiming that “Trump and Vance’s efforts on the talk stage and on social media Tuesday evening had been the most recent examples of the GOP ticket’s months-long effort to neutralize certainly one of Democrats’ handiest strains of assault and rebrand as average on abortion, and there are indicators it could be working.”

That’s ridiculous. The whole world has dominated that Walz beat Vance when it got here to abortion on the Tuesday evening debate. On that and on the importance of January 6.

In any other case, Walz perhaps didn’t achieve this nice. I don’t know—I didn’t watch, and I nonetheless haven’t watched, as a result of the day earlier than, as lots of you already know, I misplaced my 15-year-old canine. My Nation colleagues stepped in for me completely. I really like them.

However I did discover the exchanges on abortion. Walz famous that Trump “brags about how nice it was that he put the judges in and overturned Roe v. Wade.” He acknowledged the tragedy of Amber Thurman, who died after touring out of restrictive Georgia to entry care in North Carolina. He talked about Amanda Zurawski, who was denied an abortion even after virtually dying of being pregnant issues. “Should you don’t know [women like this], you quickly will. Their Venture 2025 goes to have a registry of pregnancies,” Walz mentioned, which Vance contested.

However the Politico Playbook determined it was a draw… which truly means Vance received.

“I’m positive JD Vance put the concern in Democratic consultants final evening as a result of their magic message of ‘Republicans are unhealthy on abortion’ appeared, to me, to be mitigated,” Stan Barnes, an Arizona strategist and former GOP lawmaker, advised Politico. “For lots of voters, I believe the specter of a nationwide ban rings hole.”

Excuse me? So Vance promised that Trump would by no means signal a nationwide abortion ban. Trump promised this too. In the meantime, Trump is voting for the six-week abortion ban on the poll in Florida. That’s what he means by leaving it to the states.

Poor JD Vance also needs to speak to Marla Maples and Melania Trump to see if Trump retains his phrase. He cheated on all three of his wives. I don’t suppose Trump will ever get the votes to signal an abortion ban, but when he did? He would signal one so quick, it could make Ivana Trump flip in her grave at his golf course. (I’m so unhappy JD can’t speak to Ivana.)

JD Vance clearly bought some teaching to get him not solely to speak (comparatively) sensibly about abortion, however about every little thing. It was not the shitshow I anticipated (or let’s be trustworthy, hoped for. The Harris/Trump showdown was among the finest nights of my current political life).

This was not. However I believe Deliberate Parenthood summed it up completely: “JD Vance mentioned he helps a ‘minimal nationwide normal’ and he’s even mentioned he ‘actually would really like abortion to be unlawful nationally.’ Let’s be clear: A nationwide minimal normal is similar factor as a nationwide ban.”

Why do we’ve got to maintain performing like that is up for debate? Republicans will impose an abortion ban in the event that they get the possibility. If Democrats preserve the Senate, and elect Kamala Harris, they received’t have that likelihood. It’s that easy, and likewise that difficult, since our media received’t make it easy.