In Pitch to Evangelicals, Trump Casts Himself as a Christian Crusader Who Helped End Roe v. Wade

A year after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, former President Donald J. Trump reminded a gathering of evangelical activists in the nation’s capital how he shaped the court’s conservative supermajority that ended nearly 50 years of constitutional protection of abortion.

Appearing Saturday night at a Faith & Freedom Coalition gala in Washington, he cited his nomination of three of the six justices who voted to abolish the law as the capstone of his presidency. And he set himself up as a fearless crusader for the Christian right in a meandering speech that lasted nearly 90 minutes.

“No president has ever fought as hard for Christians as I have,” he said, adding, “I pulled it off and no one thought it was even a possibility.”

It was Mr. Trump’s eighth appearance for the group, whose support he is trying to consolidate in a crowded G.OP. battle for the 2024 nomination, although he is the front runner in the field. He said Republican voters were skeptical of claims by some of his rivals that they were stronger opponents of abortion, and suggested the skepticism had started on the campaign trail.

“A woman stood up and said, ‘This man has ended Roe v. Wade. How the hell can you go against him?” said Mr. Trump, without naming the candidate or setting.

A few thousand activists gave Mr Trump a standing ovation when he mentioned the ruling, which he says gave conservatives leverage in the ongoing fight for abortion rights. Several hundred more filled an overflow chamber.

“You have power for the first time,” he said.

Virtually all of Mr. Trump’s rivals in the crowded GOP field showed up at the group’s three-day Road to Majority conference at the Washington Hilton. The lineup included Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Mr. Trump’s main rival, and former Vice President Mike Pence, Mr. Trump’s former running mate.

At a rally earlier Saturday in front of the Lincoln Memorial to commemorate the court’s ruling, Mr Pence urged anti-abortion activists to continue fighting for further restrictions on the state-level procedure.

“Save the babies and we will save America,” he said, adding, “As the old book says, there are many more with us than with them.”

Speaking at the rally a day earlier, Mr. Pence called on the entire 2024 Republican presidential field to pledge support for a national abortion ban after 15 weeks — a ban more extreme than anything Mr. Trump has supported to date.

David Porter, 64, a Republican from Newport News, Virginia, who wore a “Walk With Jesus” hat at the rally, praised Trump for his mark on the judiciary.

“He’s my husband now,” he said.

During his speech on Saturday night, Mr. Trump tried several times to connect with the faith community and said it was under attack, just as he was.

“Together we are warriors in a righteous crusade to stop the arsonists, the atheists, the globalists and the Marxists,” he said.

Each charge, he added, was a “great sign of courage.”

“I’m being sued for you,” he said.

Mr. Trump’s alliance with the Christian right is a study in political expediency, one that has paid miraculous dividends for both.

In 2016, evangelical voters helped Trump to consecutive Republican primary victories in South Carolina and other key states, paving his way to the nomination and eventually the presidency.

The influential electoral bloc showed its willingness to look beyond the wickedness of the twice-divorced Mr. Trump, whose extramarital affairs had long been tabloid fodder and who had a history of supporting abortion rights in the 1990s. Evangelical voters voted in favor of Mr. Trump’s populist narrative, as well as his commitments to a heavy-handed reset of the nation’s immigration and trade policies and to appoint “pro-life” judges.

The group collected its proceeds during Mr. Trump’s presidency, when he won a supermajority on the Supreme Court.

Trump has announced his remake of the nation’s Supreme Court as he once again seeks the support of evangelical voters, this time beset by a barrage of charges, including one in a hush money case involving a porn star.

But while Trump has emphasized his role in the right’s fight to end abortion rights, he has repeatedly dodged questions about whether he would sign a federal abortion ban if Republicans succeeded in pushing one through the divided Congress.

Mr Porter, the Virginia anti-abortion activist, said Mr Trump’s evasiveness was concerning.

“Either you stand for what you believe in or you don’t,” he said.

Mr. DeSantis, who spoke Friday at the evangelical conclave, has sought to turn the right wing against Mr. Trump over abortion policies. He criticized the former president for suggesting that a six-week abortion ban that Mr. DeSantis in Florida was “too hard”.

Susan Migliore, an anti-abortion activist from Falls Church, Virginia, who said she was religious but not evangelical, said at the Lincoln Memorial rally that she was grateful for Mr Trump’s choice but had not yet decided which candidate to run. will support in 2024.