The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is greeting former President Trump’s arrival in Wisconsin and Michigan for rallies on Wednesday with billboards aiming to remind voters of his record on abortion.
The DNC is putting up two billboards in Wisconsin and one in Michigan near the sites of Trump’s rallies scheduled for Wednesday afternoon and evening.
The billboards will feature the text: “Trump: ‘I was able to kill Roe v. Wade.’ And he wont’ stop until abortion is banned nationwide. Including Wisconsin,” with Michigan swapped for the local billboards there.
“Donald Trump is responsible for abortion bans across the country and yesterday reaffirmed his support for allowing states to prosecute women who seek abortions,” DNC spokesperson Maddy Mundy said in a statement to The Hill. “Trump won’t stop until abortion is banned in Wisconsin, Michigan, and across the country. Again and again, voters have rejected MAGA Republicans’ anti-abortion agenda. Women in the Midwest know abortion is on the ballot in 2024, and the only candidates who will protect their rights are President Biden and Vice President Harris.”
The billboards will be located on Highway 47 and Highway 84 in Michigan near Trump’s rally in Freeland, and the Wisconsin billboard will be located on I-94, near his rally site in Waukesha.
Abortion is a major issue heading into the 2024 election and a significant vulnerability for Trump. The former president has repeatedly taken credit for the Supreme Court’s decision in June 2022 to overturn Roe v. Wade because he appointed three conservative justices.
Trump, in an effort to get around the issue, has taken the position that abortion policy should be left up to the states through legislation or ballot referendums as GOP-led states enact restrictive policies. In an interview with Time Magazine published Tuesday, Trump said it should be up to states to decide whether to monitor women’s pregnancies or to prosecute women who have abortions.
Meanwhile, abortion has driven turnout for Democrats in the elections since the 2022 decision, helping the party win the Kentucky governor’s mansion, the Virginia Legislature and other key races.
President Biden and his campaign have sounded the alarm constantly that a second Trump term would lead to nationwide restrictions on abortion access, something Biden has vowed to protect if he is reelected.
Trump’s rallies in Michigan and Wisconsin will be his first such events since his hush money trial began in New York City in mid-April. The trial requires him to be in court four days a week most weeks, with Wednesdays and weekends available for Trump to campaign. He’d previously planned a rally in North Carolina, but it was canceled because of severe weather. Trump has otherwise not held public events on days off.
Tyler Mitchell