Trump, seeking support, to headline anti-abortion rally in D.C.

WASHINGTON — Donald Trump, anxious to buttress his political bona fides with evangelical voters, is slated to be a surprise headliner at today’s March for Life rally in Washington, the first sitting U.S. president ever to attend.

The annual anti-abortion event attracts thousands of people from across the country to march on Capitol Hill to protest the landmark 1973 Supreme Court ruling that legalized the procedure in all 50 states.

Today’s appearance by Trump — whose position on abortion has changed dramatically since he declared in a 1999 interview, “I am pro-choice in every respect” — comes in the midst of his ongoing impeachment trial in the Senate.

It also illustrates the importance he places on securing the support of evangelicals to boost his re-election chances in November.

Cracks in that alliance appeared late last year when a controversial editorial in the magazine Christianity Today cited the impeachment proceedings when it accused the president of “profoundly immoral” conduct and called for his ouster.

In 2016, Trump declared that his views on abortion had change and that he opposed the procedure except under certain circumstances, including in cases of rape or incest or when the mother’s life is at risk.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 24, 2020.

The Canadian Press