Last Updated May 22, 2018 8:36 PM EDT
President Trump touted the importance of midterm victories, speaking to the anti-abortion Susan B. Anthony List’s 11th Annual Campaign for Life Gala Tuesday night. The president’s remarks come shortly after his administration announced it intends to pull federal funding from health facilities that make referrals to abortion clinics.
The president emphasized that Democrats in the House and Senate don’t share their conservative values, whether that be on immigration or abortion. The president said Republicans need nine more votes to have enough support for a 20-week abortion ban. But he also touted his 2016 victory more than once, as he often does when addressing a friendly audience.
“Your vote in 2018 is every bit important as your vote in 2016, although I’m not sure I really believe that, but you know. I don’t know who the hell wrote that line,” Mr. Trump said.
The federal funding rule change is being cheered by many conservatives, as it will pull funding from groups like Planned Parenthood. The move, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said last week, “would ensure that taxpayers do not indirectly fund abortions.”
“My administration has proposed a new rule to prohibit Title X funding from going to any clinic that performs abortions,” Mr. Trump said Tuesday night, to applause.
But critics of the administration say the change could seriously restrict funding for essential women’s health services.
The Susan B. Anthony List raises funds for federal candidates who oppose legal abortion. Vice President Mike Pence spoke to the group last year.
The group’s president, Marjorie Dannenfelser, said the upcoming midterm elections are important, calling this a good opportunity to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision determining abortion is legal.
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