The Lie That Binds by Ilyse Hogue

Author:Ilyse Hogue
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Strong Arm Press
Published: 2020-07-21T23:00:00+00:00

Falwell Jr. would later endorse Trump early in his 2016 bid, enraging many associates, students, and faculty at the fundamentalist Christian university.667 It’s not hard to see why. Those at Liberty were among the most devout. A decade and a half into the new millennium, the students were the second generation of Evangelicals to grow up with the idea that abortion was the central sin. They believed what they were taught and many were confused by what they saw as a bizarre endorsement when there were unimpeachable options in Huckabee and Santorum, whom many of these young people grew up lionizing.

Taken at face value, Falwell Jr.’s use of the term “unwavering” to describe Trump made no sense in a culture that had wrapped all of its aspirations around the mantle of ending legal abortion. If Trump had indeed been converted on the issue, his path had been pretty winding. On top of that, he was hardly fluent in the language of their movement.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Trump was mostly concerned with growing his empire in the unabashedly pro-choice culture of cosmopolitan New York. When Trump first dipped his toe into politics in the late 1990s, flirting with the idea of a presidential run on the Reform Party ticket, he pointed to his involvement with pro-choice fundraisers.668 He even co-hosted one for NARAL, although — true to form — he never fulfilled his pledge. His position appeared to have been reflexively adopted from the world in which he operated and devoid of any real principle or philosophy. This was apparent in an NBC Meet the Press interview in 1999. “I hate the concept of abortion,” he said. “I hate it. I hate everything it stands for. I cringe when I listen to people debating the subject. But you still — I just believe in choice.”669

When Trump flipped positions in 2011, his answer was the exact opposite, but sounded familiar with its lack of fluency or conviction. When asked by Bill O’Reilly if he would outlaw abortion, Trump stammered through a tortured answer. “Something I don't like, I used to not be pro-life,” he said. “I have become pro-life. I have seen friends that had children that they didn't want. And now they have children and they are the apple of the eye. So I really have changed in my views over the years but I am pro-life. I would — I would really — I'm forming an opinion, I'm forming a very strong opinion but I'll let you know in about three or four weeks if I decided to.”670

For ambitious right-wing leaders like Falwell and Reed, who saw Trump as an opportunity for ascendance, this answer was close enough. Reed later swore to NPR that he believed Trump was sincere in his commitment to anti-choice policies. “We became friends because I saw him on TV talking about the abortion issue in a way that I thought was compelling and transparent and based on his deep moral conviction,” Reed said.671 Later, he would claim, “I talked to him about it in 2010 and 2011, and he was unapologetically pro-life.

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