President Donald Trump on Thursday said that any question about overturning Roe vs. Wade should be left to the Supreme Court, pointing to his latest nominee Amy Coney Barrett.
“I think, depending on what happens with Roe v. Wade, I think that perhaps it could get sent down to the states, and the states would decide,” Trump said. “I also think perhaps nothing will happen.”
The president spoke about Roe v. Wade during a town hall with NBC News on Thursday with moderator Savannah Guthrie.
Trump said that it was inappropriate to ask the justices he nominated to the Supreme Court, such as his newest nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett, how they would rule on Roe v. Wade. But the president said he would want the issue settled in the Supreme Court.
“I would like to see a brilliant jurist, a brilliant person that has done this in great depth and has actually skirted this issue for a long time, make a decision, and that’s why I chose her,” Trump said, referring to Barrett.
The president said he would not speak about his own opinion of whether Roe vs. Wade should be overturned during the confirmation hearings for Barrett, although he acknowledged that there were pro-life Republicans who wanted it overturned.
“I’m telling you, I don’t want to do anything to influence anything right now,” Trump said, noting that his critics would accuse him of sending a “signal” to her to tell her how to rule.
Trump again said that he never spoke with Barrett about her opinion on Roe v. Wade if it came to the Supreme Court.
“I didn’t speak to her about it … how she’s going to rule. You’re going to find out perhaps, or maybe you might not find out. It may never get there,” he said.
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